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Genetic Engineering Animals Pros And Cons

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There are numerous applications of genetically engineered animals which includes the understanding of gene function, modeling of human disease to either understand disease mechanisms or to aid drug development and xenotransplantation. Genetic engineering, or genetic modification, use a variety of tools and techniques from biotechnology and bioengineering to modify an organism's genetic makeup. The genetic modification of the animals has increased significantly in recent years. The advancing technologies bring social, intrinsic and extrinsic ethical concerns with them which relate to the welfare of the animals in agriculture.
In the early stages of genetic engineering, the primary technology used was transgenesis, literally meaning the transfer …show more content…

The production of GMOs has negative impacts on the natural ecosystem which are not apparent now but will be apparent in the future. For example, genetic changes in a particular plant or animal might render it harmful to another organism higher up in the food chain and ultimately this effect may build up to destroy the entire food chain in which that plant plays a role.
In philosophy, the main argument against genetic engineering is that it violates the inherent "dignity" of humans to alter animals' DNA under any circumstance (Rifkin). The "natural" state of humans, unaltered by mortal intervention, is inherently dignified. According to this train of thought, since genetic engineering fundamentally alters human at the most basic level, it is not dignified, and therefore …show more content…

Some authors have made the case that genetic engineering requires us to expand our existing notions of animal ethics to include concepts of the intrinsic value of animals (35), or of animal "integrity" or "dignity" (33). Veerhoog argues that "we misuse the word telos when we say that human beings can 'change' the telos of an animal or create a new telos" - that is to say animals have intrinsic value, which is separate from their value to humans. It is often on these grounds that people will argue that genetic engineering of animals is morally wrong. For example, in a case study of public opinion on issues related to genetic engineering, participants raised concerns about the "nature" of animals and how this is affected (negatively) by genetic engineering

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