What are the ethical issues surrounding Genetically Modified food for humans?

Résumé du document

Genetic engineering comes more under the topic of medicine than under the topic of food. From medical research, and, our centuries old conceptions of what humans are, and other ethical issues surrounding genetic engineering have been questioned. Decoding of the genome, praenatale diagnostics for recognizing possible hereditary damage, gene therapy, thus, for the transmission of animal organs to humans, mixing natures of humans and animals, clones, organ breeding from embryo main cells, are the topics which come under genetic engineering. In individual cases, these developments can be justified, but it is not to be surveyed that many specialists can simply play and experiment with genes.Because of the BSE crisis with the agrarian genetic engineering, other Gentech ranges were promoted by the Federal Government with billions of dollars and euros. The industry expects, with medical progress, genetic engineering in food can be accepted as natural.

Extraits

[...] Bibliography UTOPIE kreativ, Nr. 115/116 (Mai/Juni 2000) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic http://www.pm-magazin.de/de/ http://www.wer-weiss-was.de/cgi-bin/www/search.fpl http://www.spiegel.de Sonderheft Unispiegel http://www.faz.net/s/Rub268AB64801534CF288DF93BB89F2D797/Tpl~Eaktuell~Sdrehs cheibe.html PM Magazin 12/2005 Interview with Klaus Toepfer in: Der Spiegel 20/2000 http://www.greenpeace.de/ http://www.umweltfibel.de/lexikon/g/lex_g_gen.htm http://www.das-gibts-doch-nicht.de/seite2935.php http://www.rosaluxemburgstiftung.de http://www.was-wir-essen.de/einkauf/3462_3467.cfm UTOPIE kreativ, Nr. [...]

[...] The second question is if it is possibly not ethicalally required to limit or stop the genetic engineering research? Which concerns the argument, which does not leave itself to genetic engineering to stop not to cancel it again is long inevitably carried out and is thus first to ask, where we set the subject of acting - in humans or in one independent-ends itself technology. In all other respects the development of the last time shows that also one can be quite turned around for inexorably explained development, if the public acknowledgment is extracted: The fact that (fortunately) about two thirds of the Europeans refuse taking genetically changed food, the Americans and Canadians at present can't sell their transgenetic corn and transgenetic Soja and countries, which admits for the good reputation regarding the quality of its food in the world, as for instance Italy, explain, to want to completely work without genetic engineering. [...]

[...] The problem of the over- populatıon meanwhile just heated the discussion, as much as the genetic engineering. Against in the public still common and by campaigns aimed conception, mankind grow expotentiell in the infinite - which is often seized into the picture of a threatening "population bomb" the growth rate sinks with the births and regardıng today's prognoses the population of world in the year 2050 wıll level off at about ten billion humans.[7] Also the former director of the UN environmental program, Klaus Toepfer, (former secretary of the environment of the CDU/CSU/FDP government) answered to the question " . [...]

[...] We must determine: We all take in small quantities genetic substances with the food and in larger quantities materials, which were manufactured by genetic engineering. It is not said to us by the manufacturers, because they are not obligated to the marking. Unintentional genetic impurities do not have to be marked up to a portion of of the respective food additive. In my personal perception, working wıth genetically modified food is like playing good. The moment will come when mankind will not be able to control this development if it is not stopped early enough. [...]

[...] In contrast to this however still another further argument is stated - forces us the evolution (or another power) to the application of the genetic engineering? A special role plays thereby that glaring argument, which at present is on the sides of the large newspapers, and expressly understands itself as ethical. Briefly calm it reads: We humans are not the subject of the ethics, but the evolution, or alternatively the "egoistic" genes, which brought us out humans and whose laws we are certain implement, which obligate us , as they became conscious now, to continue.[6] In the feuilleton of the FAZ this argument was recently stated under the heading "why the future doesn't need us". [...]