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Transgenesis in Farm Animals: Ethical Implications for Public Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

T. B. Mepham
T. B. Mepham*
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
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Abstract

There is currently considerable investment in research aimed at producing transgenic farm animals with enhanced productive capacities. This article submits these prospective technologies to critical ethical evaluation. The analysis provided, focusing on issues relevant to public policy, suggests the need to introduce additional regulations governing the use of these technologies. Should their use be permitted in principle, specific legislation would seem to be required: (1) to protect the welfare of transgenic animals produced/kept in commercial enterprises; (2) to ensure the freedom of choice of purchasers of food and other products derived from transgenic animals by provision of adequate information on the source of the products; and (3) to provide a mechanism for limiting the use of transgenic technologies to those that are in the public interest.

Type
Animal Biotechnology
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , August 1994 , pp. 195 - 203
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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