Philosophers have used thought experiments to examine contentious examples of genetic modification. We hypothesised that these examples would prove useful in provoking responses from lay participants concerning technological interventions used to address welfare concerns. We asked 747 US and Canadian citizens to respond to two scenarios based on these thought experiments: genetically modifying chickens to produce blind progeny that are less likely to engage in feather-pecking (BC); and genetically modifying animals to create progeny that do not experience any subjective state (i.e. incapable of experiencing pain or fear; IA). For contrast, we assessed a third scenario that also resulted in the production of animal protein with no risk of suffering but did not involve genetically modifying animals: the development of cultured meat (CM). Participants indicated on a seven-point scale how acceptable they considered the technology (1 = very wrong to do; 7 = very right to do), and provided a text-based, open-ended explanation of their response. The creation of cultured meat was judged more acceptable than the creation of blind chickens and insentient animals. Qualitative responses indicated that some participants accepted the constraints imposed by the thought experiment, for example, by accepting perceived harms of the technology to achieve perceived benefits in reducing animal suffering. Others expressed discomfort with such trade-offs, advocating for other approaches to reducing harm. We conclude that people vary in their acceptance of interventions within existing systems, with some calling for transformational change.

The discussion about the moral status of novel beings tends to focus on artificial intelligence, robots, and other man-made systems. We should, however, also consider a likelier kind of novel beings: animals that are genetically modified to develop human-like cognitive capabilities. This paper focuses on the possibility of conferring human characteristics on nonhuman primates (NHPs) in the context of neuroscientific research. It first discusses the use of NHPs for neuroscientific research and then, second, describes recent developments that promise to revolutionize the field and how that may lead to NHPs attaining human-like cognitive capabilities. Third, an account of moral status is developed to ground the central claim, that making the NHP brain more human-like is unproblematic as long as the NHPs do not become persons. In conclusion, this paper discusses the implications for the moral status of cognitively enhanced NHPs, as well as the implications for other novel beings.

This article examines the changes in herbicide use in relation to canola production in Western Canada, comparing 1995 and 2006. The commercialization and widespread adoption of herbicide-resistant (HR) canola has changed weed management practices in Western Canada. Before the introduction of HR canola, weeds were controlled by herbicides and tillage as the leading herbicides at that time required tillage to allow for soil incorporation of the herbicide. Much of the tillage associated with HR canola production has been eliminated as 64% of producers are now using zero or minimum tillage as their preferred form of crop and soil management. Additionally, there have been significant changes regarding the use and application of herbicides for weed control in canola. This research shows that when comparing canola production in 1995 and 2006, the environmental impact of herbicides applied to canola decreased 53%, producer exposure to chemicals decreased 56%, and quantity of active ingredient applied decreased 1.3 million kg. The cumulative environmental impact was reduced almost 50% with the use of HR herbicides. If HR canola had not been developed and Canadian canola farmers continued to use previous production technologies, the amount of active ingredient applied to control weeds in 2007 would have been 60% above what was actually applied.

There are many quality targets in cereals that could generate step-change improvements in nutritional or food-processing characteristics. For instance, levels of acrylamide, soluble and insoluble fibre, antioxidants, allergens and intolerance factors in food are, to a large extent, determined by the genetics of the raw materials used. However, improvements to these traits pose significant challenges to plant breeders. For some traits, this is because the underlying genetic and biochemical basis of the traits is not fully understood but for others, there is simply a lack of natural genetic variation in commercially useful germplasm. One strategy to overcome the latter hindrance is to use wide crosses with more exotic germplasm; however, this can bring other difficulties such as yield loss and linkage drag of deleterious alleles. As DNA sequencing becomes cheaper and faster, it drives the research fields of reverse genetics and functional genomics which in turn will enable the incorporation of desirable traits into crop varieties via molecular breeding and biotechnology. I will discuss the evolution of these techniques from conventional genetic modification to more recent developments in targeted gene editing and the potential of biotechnology to complement conventional breeding methods. I will also discuss the role of risk assessment and regulation in the commercialisation of GM crops.

Can seed characters be used for predicting the presence of a persistent seed bank in the field? We address this question using ten cultivars of the crop Brassica napus, ten feral B. napus accessions originating from seeds collected in the field and nine accessions of the closely related ruderal species Brassica rapa. When buried for a year in the field, seeds of the wild B. rapa displayed, as expected, much higher survival fractions than those of domesticated B. napus at two different locations in The Netherlands. Compared to B. napus, B. rapa produces relatively small seeds with high levels of aliphatic glucosinolates and a thick seed coat. However, within each species none of these characters correlated with seed survival in the soil. At low temperatures, B. rapa seeds had lower and more variable germination fractions than those of B. napus; a small fraction (4.6%) of the B. rapa seeds showed primary dormancy. Rather surprisingly, B. napus displayed genetic differences in germination at low temperature, and germination fractions at 5°C correlated negatively with seed survival in the soil. Our comparisons between and within the two species suggest that foregoing germination at low temperatures is an important character for developing a persistent seed bank. We discuss our results in light of environmental risk assessment of genetically modified B. napus.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), e.g. viral vectors, could threaten the environment if by their release they spread hazardous gene products. Even in contained use, to prevent adverse consequences, viral vectors carrying genes from mammals or humans should be especially scrutinized as to whether gene products that they synthesize could be hazardous in their new context. Examples of such potentially hazardous gene products (PHGPs) are: protein toxins, products of dominant alleles that have a role in hereditary diseases, gene products and sequences involved in genome rearrangements, gene products involved in immunomodulation or with an endocrine function, gene products involved in apoptosis, activated proto-oncogenes. For contained use of a GMO that carries a construct encoding a PHGP, the precautionary principle dictates that safety measures should be applied on a “worst case” basis, until the risks of the specific case have been assessed. The potential hazard of cloned genes can be estimated before empirical data on the actual GMO become available. Preliminary data may be used to focus hazard identification and risk assessment. Both predictive and empirical data may also help to identify what further information is needed to assess the risk of the GMO. A two-step approach, whereby a PHGP is evaluated for its conceptual dangers, then checked by data bank searches, is delineated here.

The regular use of live or killed vaccines against infectious agents has remarkably improved the efficiency of poultry production. In some cases eradication of disease has been possible when the pathogen is antigenically stable and confined to a certain geographical area. In other instances monovalent or polyvalent live or killed vaccines have been effective in reducing mortality and morbidity. Many conventional vaccines are developed by trial and error and basic information about their genetic make-up is not known. While the poultry industry has benefited from the regular use of conventional vaccines, there is need for a new generation of effective vaccines that require minimal handling of birds during administration. Using molecular techniques, it is possible to identify the genes associated with virulence and protection. In genetically engineered vaccines, genes that encode protective antigens can be expressed in bacterial or viral vectors. In this regard, avianpox virus vectors appear to be promising for the generation of polyvalent vaccines expressing antigens from multiple pathogens.

In contrast to the situation in the USA, where a wide range of genetically modified (GM) foods is available, in Europe very few GM products have been approved for marketing as foods, and there is widespread public concern about their safety and environmental impact. The marketing of a GM crop for food use in Europe falls under the EC novel foods regulations, and applications require the submission of an extensive dossier of information. The safety evaluation of GM foods presents considerable problems both in the conduct and interpretation of experimental studies, because conventional toxicity tests used in the evaluation of simple chemicals may not be appropriate for whole foods. To rationalise the safety evaluation process and to circumvent the difficulties in toxicological assessment of food materials, the concept of substantial equivalence has been developed. The concept is that if it can be demonstrated that the novel food is essentially similar to its conventional counterpart in terms of critical nutritional or anutritional components, then it is likely to be no more or less toxic than the latter. The possible introduction of unintended effects by the genetic modification process is particularly problematic for the safety evaluation process. The new genomic and post-genomic techniques are potentially valuable in the safety evaluation of GM foods, although they are as yet in their infancy.

The presence of DNA fragments in tissues from rabbits given genetically modified (GM) soya-bean meal (solvent extracted) was investigated by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach. Moreover, the possible effects on cell metabolism were evaluated by determination of several specific enzymes in serum, heart, skeletal muscle, liver and kidney. The chloroplast sequence for tRNA Leu by using the Clor1/Clor2 primers designed on chloroplast trnL sequence was clearly detected. On the contrary, two couples of species specific primers for conventional (Le1-5/Le 1-3 which amplifies the soya bean lectin gene) and genetically modified (35S1/35S2 which amplifies the 35S CMV promoter that is present in the genomic structure of GM soya bean) soya bean were not found in all samples. No differences in enzyme levels were detected in serum, but a significant increase of lactic dehydrogenase, mainly concerning the LDH1 isoenzyme was found in particular in kidney and heart but not in the muscle, thus suggesting a potential alteration in the local production of the enzyme. Finally, no significant differences were detected concerning body weight, fresh organ weights and no sexual differences were detected.

There has been a rapid expansion in the commercial cultivation of genetically modified crops, rising from the first plantings in 1995 to 44.5 million hectares worldwide in 2000, most of which have grown in North America. Though there are sharp divisions in opinions on benefits and risk, genetic modification (GM) does not represent a single, homogenous technology. Each application brings different potential benefits and risks for different stakeholders. This paper reviews recent scientific progress and future applications using a new typology of three generations of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) ranged against five types of scientific application. Agricultural GMOs pose a range of potential environmental and health risks. An analysis of recent independent field and scientific evidence from industrialized countries summarizes the current state of knowledge on seven types of risk that apply to all agricultural systems: (1) horizontal gene flow; (2) new forms of resistance and pest problems; (3) recombination to produce new pathogens; (4) direct and indirect effects of novel toxins; (5) loss of biodiversity from changes to farm practices; (6) allergenic and immune system reactions; and (7) antibiotic resistance marker genes. There remain highly contrasting positions taken by different stakeholders over GMOs. A review of three debates explains claims and counter-claims for (1) genetic modification as technological fix or contributor to sustainability; (2) genetic modification as driver of corporate power or friend of farmer; and (3) genetic modification as feeder of the world or eliminator of alternatives.