Transgenic Wheat and Ethics

1
Transgenic Wheat and Ethics

• Dennis R. Cooley
• History and Religious Studies
• North Dakota State University
• 22 March 2004

2
Wheat in North Dakota

• 2002 Rank Among States Percent of Nation's
  Production . . .
• 1 Spring Wheat 42
• Durum Wheat 61
• 2 All Wheat 13
• http//www.nass.usda.gov/nd/rank03.htm
• VALUE OF CROP PRODUCTION
• 2001 2002
• Wheat, All 812,938,000 864,828,000
• Durum 157,794,000 202,313,000
• Other Spring 647,496,000 652,540,000
• Winter 7,648,000 9,975,000
• http//www.nass.usda.gov/nd/febcrval.txt
• Wheat comprised over 29 of the value of NDs
  crop production in 2002.

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How to Make Transgenic Wheat

• Transformation
• Transformation involves the introduction of
  genes into a plant from some outside foreign
  source, such as a fungal pathogen. The pathogen
  can carry the trait into the parent plant.
• The use of known DNA markers.
• The use of DNA markers allows a gene to be
  inserted into a plant using what is already known
  about the chromosomes of a plant through the
  mapping process. It also allows the "pyramiding"
  of one trait or another.
• http//filebox.vt.edu/cals/cses/chagedor/wheat.ht
  ml

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Transgenic Wheat Background

• Difficulties
• Wheat is a low-value crop compared to cotton,
  rice, and soybeans. It is an open question
  whether a costly genetic approach to wheat can be
  justified.
• The genome of wheat is 10 to 20 times larger than
  crops like cotton or rice. Improving wheat by
  biotechnology will be a far more complex and
  time-consuming challenge. http//filebox.vt.edu/ca
  ls/cses/chagedor/wheat.html

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Transgenic Wheat Background continued

• New Features
• Round-up Ready wheat.
• Wheat that might grow back faster following
  grazing.
• Wheat with more overall forage vigor.
• More leaf rust resistant wheat. (Anti-fungal gene
  from alfalfa and one from rice.)
• More drought tolerant wheat. (Bacterium that
  manufactures a sugar alcohol, mannitol. The
  alcohol is known to protect cellular membranes
  under drought stress.) http//filebox.vt.edu/cals/
  cses/chagedor/wheat.html

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Moral Principle

• A Pragmatic Theory
• An action is morally right if
• Reasonable Person Utilitarianism (RPU)- a
  reasonable person would reasonably believe that
  the action will have at least as much utility as
  any alternative action,
• Utility df. The result of subtracting all of the
  evil produced by an action from all of the good
  produced by the action,
• AND
• Quasi-Categorical Imperative (QCI)-in doing the
  action, the agent does not treat anyone as a mere
  means.
• Behavior, intentions, motives, attitudes, feeling
  respect, and other mental states.

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Reasons For

• Increases crop yields-feeds more people and
  increases profits.
• Allows producers more alternatives from which to
  choose.
• Reduces pesticide use-good for the environment
  and increases profits.
• Reduces time producers must spend in their
  fields thereby, freeing them for other
  activities, such as jobs off of the farms.
• Sets the stage for Second Generation Technology,
  which will be even better.
• Allows U.S. and other developed countries to
  maintain control of the markets.

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Qualifications

• Conflicting studies on crop yield increase.
• The increase in alternatives is not intrinsically
  good.
• Generally, the higher the quantity of a product,
  then the lower the price paid.
• The Developed Worlds control of the market is
  not necessarily a good thing.

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Reasons Against

• Unnatural.
• Poses serious risks to humans, animals, or the
  environment.
• Uncertainties not found with current wheat crops.
• Technology Agreements violate ethical bounds.
• Loss of alternatives from which to choose.
• Loss of Markets.
• Cost of maintaining purity throughout production
  and distribution system.
• Legal Problems from loss of purity.
• Increased productivity leads to lower prices.
• Monopolies.

10
Qualifications

• Unnatural- No definition of word will prove
  transgenics are inherently/intrinsically bad.
• Studies performed to date have not shown risks.
  Also, if the standard is this for transgenics,
  then it should be the same for any new
  technology?
• It is not prudent to sign the Tech Agreements,
  but people have autonomy, which must be
  respected.
• The loss of alternatives is not
  inherently/intrinsically bad.

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Moral Reasons

• FOR
• Reduces pesticide use-good for the environment
  and increases profits.
• Reduces time producers must spend in their
  fields thereby, freeing them for other
  activities, such as jobs off of the farms.
• Sets the stage for Second Generation Technology,
  which probably will be better.
• AGAINST
• Loss of Markets.
• Cost of maintaining purity.
• Legal Problems from loss of purity.
• Increased productivity leads to lower prices.
• Monopolies.

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Evaluation Time

• To introduce or not to introduce?
• The Pragmatic Theory
• RPU A reasonable person would believe that the
  best thing to do is to wait, until it is clearer
  what the markets will accept and if it is
  practical to maintain purity.
• QCI Waiting for the information required above
  respects people.

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FINI

• Sponsored by a grant from the USDA to the
  Consortium to Examine the Sociological, Economic,
  and Ethical Aspects of Biotechnology