Biotechnological Issues

Biotechnology, the use of living organisms and biological processes for medicine, agriculture, industry, technology or applied biology, is an old science that goes as far back as the domestication of basic grains. Rapid modern advancements in biotechnology, from genetically modified crops to cloning, however, have raised a number of concerns and ethical issues surrounding the field.

Medicine: Cloning and New Medical Treatments

• Advancements in medical biology and genetics have made a number of innovative new treatments possible. Though some of these treatments are generally uncontroversial, some, such as cloning and genetic manipulation, have raised a number of ethical and medical issues. Many question the philosophical implications of man's new-found ability to create life from spare genetic material (cloning). Some question our ability to control the genetic dynamics we have only begun to understand; others struggle with the social implications of being able to alter the genetic code of those with access to complex and expensive genetic treatments.

Genetically Modified Crops

• The genetic modification of crops and food has perhaps received the most attention in the biotechnology debate. Genetically engineered foods are designed to have several advantages over common crops, such as resistance to certain diseases or increased output. As such, genetically engineered crops hold some promise in fighting world hunger and preventing agricultural shortages or crop failures. Critics of the practice, however, point out that genetically modified plants can have unintended consequences on local ecosystems, even becoming highly invasive and threatening the long-term stability of agricultural production and other environmental services. Critics of genetically modified crops also claim that reframing the debate as a matter of increasing agricultural yields looses sight of distribution and sale problems that cause many food shortages.

Property

• One of the most contentious issues with biotechnology is the debate over property rights. Who "owns" or can legally patent living organisms, genes or biological processes: the laboratories that develop technologies using biological information, governments as a natural resource, individuals who have traditionally used certain medicines or natural goods, or no one? Intellectual property in biotechnology, of course, implies an asset and an income stream as biotechnological products such as modified seed are bought and sold, further complicating the above debates by limiting access to natural goods to those who can afford them. Nonetheless, many biotechnology companies insist that without a profit motive they would have less incentive to develop potentially life-saving biotechnology products.

Regulation

• Beyond property issues, biotechnology also raises a number of regulatory issues. Food safety regulation, for instance, was designed to address specific health risks with particular types of food, like the proper cooking temperature of meat in public restaurants. Biotechnology could lead to small but important changes in the genetic makeup and type of diseases that affect certain food types, forcing regulators to reevaluate the types of pests and diseases they look for in food items. Changing variables also limit the capacity for risk assessment by government bodies in areas like allergens and nutrition. Additionally, just as the property framework is not absolutely clear in the ownership of biotechnological products, the liability framework is not completely clear with regard to who should be responsible for unintended problems caused by biological agents with human alterations.