LECTURE 10

Issues in Biotechnology
A. Banning and Moratorium on Human Cloning

The cloning of an adult sheep (Dolly) in Scotland

using nuclear transfer– is one of the most dramatic
recent examples of a scientific discovery becoming a
public issue

* The success of nuclear transfer as a method of cloning

sheep raise alarms on the prospect of human cloning
The National Bioethics Advisory Commission
(NBAC) held hearings and prepare reports on the
religious, ethical and legal issues surrounding human
cloning
NBAC - decline to call a permanent ban on the practice
but recommended a moratorium on efforts to clone
human cloning
Fears on human cloning:
* the clone would not be an individual but
merely a carbon copy of the original =
genetic determinism
* according to scientists, a clone will not
be in fact an identical copy but more like a
delayed identical twin
* a clone rather would be a separate
person from her/his non-contemporaneous
twin
 Genetic determinism is a false belief since
gene effects alone do not determine the final
phenotype but that environment had a
significant contribution to human development
Fear that merit consideration in formulating
public policy:
Richard Lewontin – calls for greater public
education on scientific issues on human cloning
Some concerns on human cloning
* interest and rights of human clones
* social and moral consequences of the
cloning process
* possible motivations for creating children in
this way
B. Labeling of GM Foods
Consumers argue and insist on their right to:
* know what they are eating
* choose what they are eating
Issues:
safety, cost, truth in advertising, choice fairness,
science, trade barriers, accountability, regulatory
responsibility, legal liability
Requirements for implementing labeling policies
 Set up standards and services to conduct testing
of the presence of GM ingredients
 Easy if the GM ingredient is the main ingredient

 Difficult to detect in processed products like oils,

sugars and starches
 Certification – wording of the label should not
prejudice the consumer for or against the
product
 Assurance of a clear and achievable standards
ISSUE ON LABELING:

The decision to label GM products is not so

much related to the “safety” of the product but
rather to the “fear” alluded to such products.

GM label – should not imply that the product is

less safe or is significantly different since all GM
foods have to meet safety standards before
being approved for sale.
Labeling should be based on the following
objective criterion: * actual composition of food
C. Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property = represents products of the
mind or intellect
= ideas that can be converted to tangible forms
Examples of IP:
* inventions
 Computer software
 Publications
 Videotapes
 Music
 Plant varieties
Ways of protecting IPR

 Copyright - protects the authorship of published

works from unauthorized use.
 Trade secret – private information about specific
technical procedures and formulations that a
company wishes to protect from others
 Trademarks- can either be words or symbols
that identify a particular product or process of
one company
 Plant breeder’s rights
 Patents – most important form of intellectual
property
Intellectual Property Rights

IPR- an important consideration in research

especially where the aim is product
development
Function of IPR
* Intended to promote research and
development by providing incentives for
investment in the creative process and
encourage access to inventions produced
elsewhere
Plant breeder’s rights - use to protect new
varieties of plants by giving commercial rights
for about 20 to 30 years to market a new variety
or its reproductive material
= prevents anyone from growing or selling the
variety without the owner’s permission
Variety – should possess the following traits
D- distinct; U – unique; S - stable;
N - novel
Patents – an exclusive right given to an inventor
to exclude all others from making, using, selling
or offering to sell the invention in the country that
granted the patent right, and importing it to that
country
= most critical form of protection for agricultural
biotechnology
Agricultural biotechnology – patent may cover
the following:
* Plant transformation methods
* vectors
* genes
THANK YOU