Helliwell, R., Hartley, S. and Pearce, W. orcid.org/0000-0001-6884-3854 (2019) NGO perspectives on the social and ethical dimensions of plant genome-editing. Agriculture and Human Values, 36 (4). pp. 779-791. ISSN 0889-048X
Abstract
Plant genome editing has the potential to become another chapter in the intractable debate that has dogged agricultural biotechnology. In 2016, 107 Nobel Laureates accused Greenpeace of emotional and dogmatic campaigning against agricultural biotechnology and called for governments to defy such campaigning. The Laureates invoke the authority of science to argue that Greenpeace is putting lives at risk by opposing agricultural biotechnology and Golden Rice and is notable in framing Greenpeace as unethical and its views as marginal. This paper examines environmental, food and farming NGOs’ social and ethical concerns about genome editing, situating these concerns in comparison to alternative ethical assessments provided by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a key actor in this policy debate. In doing so, we show that participant NGOs and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics share considerable concerns about the social and ethical implications of genome editing. These concerns include choices over problem/solution framing and broader terminology, implications of regulatory and research choices on consumer choice and relations of power. However, GM-engaged NGOs and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics diverge on one important area: the NGOs seek to challenge the existing order and broaden the scope of debate to include deeply political questions regarding agricultural and technological choices. This distinction between the ethical positions means that NGOs provide valuable ethical insight and a useful lens to open up debate and discussion on the role of emerging technologies, such as genome editing, and the future of agriculture and food sovereignty.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Springer Nature B.V. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Agriculture and Human Values. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Agricultural biotechnology; Plant genome editing; NGOs; Ethics; Nuffield council on bioethics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2019 11:57 |
Last Modified: | 07 Dec 2021 10:47 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Nature |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s10460-019-09956-9 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:147416 |