Introduction

Summary

In 1984, I was approached by conference organizers with the request that I give the banquet speech at the first international conference ever held on genetic engineering of animals. Specifically, I was to address the topic of social and moral issues raised by the advent of this new and powerful technology. Flattered, stimulated, challenged, and totally ignorant, I accepted, confident of my ability to rise to the occasion by standing on the shoulders of my predecessors. Unfortunately, a brief visit to the university library shattered my preconceptions – I had no predecessors! My talk, in its published version, would be the first paper ever done on this major topic. Suddenly, I saw my task under a new and harsher light. The buck stopped – and started – with me. Truly an academic's nightmare.

Seeking a purchase on the topic, I solicited dialogue from colleagues in my department. “Genetic engineering of animals,” mused one such partner in discussion, “You're talking about the Frankenstein thing.” His remark was largely ignored by me at first, as it seemed to me flippant and shallow. It was only later that I realized that he had opened a portal into the issue by forthrightly expressing what in fact rises to most people's minds when genetic engineering is mentioned.