Chapter Summary
In this chapter, Robert Streiffer and John Basl consider the potential for biotechnology to address two prominent ethical concerns regarding concentrated animal agriculture: its detrimental ecological impacts and the amount of animal suffering that is involved. With respect to animal welfare, they focus on capacity diminishment — e.g. engineering blind chickens or microencephalic pigs. Streiffer and Basl raise significant doubts about whether diminishment would in fact decrease animal suffering and improve the quality of animal lives. With respect to the environment, they focus on the case of Enviropig — the attempt to engineer pigs that have less phosphorous in their manure. They argue that if Enviropigs were engineered successfully, they would have lower environmental impacts than non-engineered pigs on a per-pig basis. However, whether they would be ecologically beneficial overall depends on several other factors, including whether they enabled an increase in the number of animals used. Therefore, Enviropigs (and other animals engineered to reduced ecological impacts) may not in the end be ecologically beneficial.
Material in this chapter originally appeared in Robert Streiffer and John Basl (2011) ‘The Application of Biotechnology to Animals in Agriculture,’ Oxford Handbook of Animal Ethics, eds. Beauchamp and Frey (Oxford University Press). It appears here by permission of Oxford University Press.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Works Cited
A. Ali, and K. Chang (1985) ‘Early Egg Production in Genetically Blind (rc/rc) Chickens in Comparison with Sighted (Rc+/rc) Controls,’ Poultry Science 4(5):789–794.
I. Bach, (2000) ‘The LIM Domain: Regulation by Association,’ Mechanisms of Development 91: 5–17.
W. Balduini, M. Cimino, G. Lombardelli, M. Abbracchio, G. Peruzzi, T. Cecchini, G. Gazzanelli, and F. Cattabeni, (1986) ‘Microencephalic Rats as a Model for Cognitive Disorders,’ Clinical Neuropharmacology 9(3): s8–s18.
D. Brink (1989) Moral Realism and the Foundations of Ethics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
D. Brock (1995) ‘The Non-Identity Problem and Genetic Harms — The Case of Wrongful Handicaps,’ Bioethics 9(3/4): 269–275.
A. Buchanan, D. Brock, N. Daniels, and D. Wikler (2000) From Chance to Choice: Genetics and Justice (Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press).
S. Carpenter, N. Caracao, D. Correll, R. Howarth, A. Sharpley, and V. Smith, (1998) ‘Nonpoint Pollution of Surface Waters with Phosphorus and Nitrogen,’ Ecological Applications 8(3): 559–568.
K. Cheng, R. Shoffner, K. Gelatt, G. Gum, J. Otis, and J. Bitgood (1980) ‘An Autosomal Recessive Blind Mutant in the Chicken,’ Poultry Science, 59: 2179–2182.
M. S. Dawkins (1980) Animal Suffering: The Science of Animal Welfare (London: Chapman and Hall).
I. Duncan (2004) ‘Welfare Problems with Poultry,’ in The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions, (ed.) G. J. Benson and B. Rollin (Iowa: Blackwell Press): 307–323.
R. Elliot (1982) ‘Faking Nature,’ Inquiry 25(1): 81–93.
C. Forsberg, J. Phillips, S. Golovan, M. Fan, R. Meidinger, A. Ajakaiye, D. Hilborn, and R. Hacker (2003) ‘The Enviropig Physiology, Performance, and Contribution to Nutrient Management Advances in a Regulated Environment: The Leading Edge of Change in the Pork Industry,’ Journal of Animal Science 81(2): e68–e77.
D. Fraser, J. Mench, and S. Millman (2000) ‘Farm Animals and Their Welfare in 2000,’ in The State of the Animals: 2001 (ed.) D. Salem, and A. Rowan (Gaithersburg: Humane Society Press) 87–99.
D. Fraser, and D. Weary (2004) ‘Quality of Life for Farm Animals: Linking Science, Ethics, and Animal Welfare,’ in The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions, (ed.) G. J. Benson, and B. Rollin, 39–60.
S. Gardiner (2004) ‘Ethics and Global Climate Change,’ Ethics 114: 555–600.
S. Golovan, R. Meidinger, A. Ajakaiye, M. Cottrill, M. Wiederkehr, D. Barney, C. Plante, J. W. Pollard, M. Fan, M. A. Hayes, J. Laursen, J. P. Hjorth, R. H. J. Phillips, and C. Forsberg (2001) ‘Pigs Expressing Salivary Phytase Produce Low-Phosphorus Manure,’ Nature Biotechnology 19: 741–745.
T. Grandin, and M. Deasing (1998) ‘Genetics and Animal Welfare,’ in (ed.) T. Grandin Genetics and the Behaviour of Domestic Animals, (San Diego, CA: Academic Press): 319–341.
N. G. Gregory, and L. J. Wilkins (1989) ‘Broken Bones in Fowl: Handling and Processing Damage in End-of-Lay Battery Hens,’ British Poultry Science 30: 555–562.
J. Griffin (1986) Well-Being: Its Meaning, Measurement, and Moral Importance (Oxford: Clarendon Press).
B. Heringstad, G. Klemetsdal, and J. Ruane (2000) ‘Selection for Mastitis Resistance in Dairy Cattle: A Review with Focus on the Situation in Nordic Countries,’ Livestock Production Science 64: 95–106.
P. Hooda, A. Edwards, H. Anderson, and A. Miller (2000) ‘A Review of Water Quality Concerns in Livestock Farming Areas,’ The Science of the Total Environmental, 250: 143–167.
P. Hulme (2005) ‘Adapting to Climate Change: Is there Scope for Ecological Management in the Face of a Global Threat?’ Journal of Applied Ecology, 42: 784–794.
R. Ilea (2009) ‘Intensive Livestock Farming: Global Trends, Increased Environmental Concerns, and Ethical Solutions,’ Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 22: 153–167.
IPCC (2007) ‘Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,’ (ed.) M. Parry, O. Canziani, J. Palutikof, P. van der Linden, and C. Hanson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): 7–22.
A. Jongbloed, and N. Lenis (1998) ‘Environmental Concerns about Animal Manure,’ Journal of Animal Science 76(10): 2641–2648.
F. D. McMillan (2005) Mental Health and Well-Being in Animals (Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing).
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Biodiversity Synthesis (Washington, DC: World Resources Institute, 2005) (available at http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.354.aspx.pdf (accessed August 30, 2010).
National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) (2003) ‘Layers ’99: Part 1: Reference of 1999 Table Egg Layer Management in the U.S.,’ 5 (available at nahms.aphis.usda.gov/poultry/layers99/Layers99dr_PartII.pdf (accessed August 31, 2010).
National Research Council (NRC) (2004) Animal Biotechnology: Science-Based Concerns (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press): 93–102, 104–107.
J. O’Neill (2003) ‘The Varieties of Intrinsic Value,’ in Environmental Ethics: An Anthology, (ed.) H. Rolston III, and A. Light (Malden: Blackwell Press).
D. Parfit (1984) Reasons and Persons (Oxford: Clarendon Press) 351–379.
B. Rollin (1995) The Frankenstein Syndrome: Ethical and Social Issues in the Genetic Engineering of Animals (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
H. Rolston III (1989) Philosophy Gone Wild (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books).
W. Shawlot, and R. Behringer (1995) ‘Requirement for LIM1 in Head-Organizer Function,’ Nature 374: 425–430.
P. Singer (2002) One World: The Ethics of Globalization (New Haven: Yale University Press).
B. Steinbock, and R. McClamrock (1994) ‘When is Birth Unfair to the Child,’ Hastings Center Report 24(6): 15–21.
R. Streiffer (2008) ‘Animal Biotechnology and the Non-Identity Problem,’ American Journal of Bioethics 8(6): 47–48.
W. Throop (2000) ‘Eradicating the Aliens: Restoration and Exotic Species,’ in Environmental Restoration, (ed.) W. Throop (Amherst, NY: Humanity Books).
K. Turner, S. Georgiou, R. Clark, R. Brouwer, and J. Burke (2004) ‘Economic Valuation of Water Resources in Agriculture: From Sectoral to a Functional Perspective on Natural Resource Management,’ FAO Paper Reports, 24.
UN FAO (2006) Livestock’s Long Shadow, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (available at ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e.pdf).
L. Vestel (2001) ‘The Next Pig Thing,’ Mother Jones, (available at http://motherjones.com/environment/2001/10/next-pig-thing (accessed August 31, 2010).
A. B. Webster (2004) ‘Welfare Implications of Avian Osteoporosis,’ Poultry Science, 83: 184–192.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2014 Robert Streiffer and John Basl
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Streiffer, R., Basl, J. (2014). The Ethics of Agricultural Animal Biotechnology. In: Sandler, R.L. (eds) Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137349088_33
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137349088_33
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-36703-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-34908-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Religion & Philosophy CollectionPhilosophy and Religion (R0)