is a common welfare problem on dairy farms and any solution to this problem would be welcomed. On the other hand, mastitis is related to production levels and to a general increase in yield, even if not each individual cow have an increased production. Another example of an ethical dilemma is the litter size of sows that increasingly give birth to more piglets than they have teats. A recent study has shown that dairy and pig farmers would be likely to accept lower milk and litter size if this increased animal health and thus lowered the disease and mortality risk and, albeit indirectly, reduced costs. From an ethical point of view, both the aim of breeding and the selection of traits have to be considered. As to the first, what is the role of these high producing cows and sows in a global context? For example, what are the consequences of increased production per animal in terms of issues like food security, farmer income, global disease control, and animal welfare? As to the second, what traits are necessary for a robust animal and how should such robustness be defined? Even if it might be economically sustainable to cull a high-producing cow at an age of four or five due to mastitis rather than to use a less productive but healthier breed, is such activity also environmentally sustainable? And what are the social aspects; what do farmers think and what do consumers know? From an ethical point of view, any current practice can be scrutinized and discussed with the aim of finding the most solid arguments for each position. Another ethical issue is whether animals have intrinsic value. Criticism of the genetic modification of farm animals has often been related to their intrinsic value, whereas genetic modification of mice for medical purposes has become a self-evident necessity. Thus, other aspects such as the role of the animal, our relation to it, or simply tradition strongly influences what we think is acceptable to do with an animal. Also, given the different methods for changing the
genetic makeup of an animal (as described on pages 25-31) it might be difficult to see a clear distinction between conventional breeding and genetic modification. Is the most relevant ethical aspect in the choice of method, in the method itself, or in the consequences of using a certain method? There are a number of ethical issues to be considered regarding the importance of the methods, and these will be shown in the following section about plant breeding. These issues also concern animal breeding.
ETHICS IN PLANT BREEDING The breeding of plants has rarely been seen as involving controversial ethical issues. The genetic modification of plants, however, is often thought to involve such issues. It is a common belief that genetic modification is wrong, but what might such a claim amount to and what might it imply? Some people have objections to the technology as such – that there is something inherently wrong with genetic modification that sets it apart qualitatively from changing a genome through traditional means such as selective reproduction. One such argument is that genetic modification is unnatural and, therefore, immoral or at least morally problematic. A representative of this position is the Prince of Wales, who in his commentary on the 2000 Reith Lectures on BBC Radio 4 argued that “above all, we should show greater respect for the genius of Nature’s designs – rigorously tested and refined over millions of years. This means being careful to use science to understand how Nature works – not to change what Nature is, as we do when genetic manipulation seeks to transform the process of biological evolution into something altogether different” (emphasis added). This is a strong claim, and even if many people share the idea of genetic modification as “unnatural”, it appears to be less of a moral problem in medical applications such as when 63