Nelson Creath

Biotech 1000

May 3, 2022

Current Biotechnology Position

Genetic Engineering has changed the way the world turns. From the clothes we wear to

the food we eat, we are always surrounded by products and items that stem from genetic

engineering. “ Genetic engineering (also called genetic modification) is a process that uses

laboratory-based technologies to alter the DNA makeup of an organism. This may involve

changing a single base pair (A-T or C-G), deleting a region of DNA or adding a new segment of

DNA. For example, genetic engineering may involve adding a gene from one species to an

organism from a different species to produce a desired trait. Used in research and industry,

genetic engineering has been applied to the production of cancer therapies, brewing yeasts,

genetically modified plants and livestock, and more.” (https://www.genome.gov/genetics-

glossary/Genetic-Engineering) It’s safe to say that genetic engineering and modification has

some clear benefits that cause its prevalence in society today. However, there are some ethical

concerns that are associated with genetic modification such as animal testing, genetically

modified food, and in the past there have been issues with testing on specific populations of

people based on race.

The most common concern today is related to animal testing. “ The genetic engineering

of animals has increased significantly in recent years, and the use of this technology brings with

it ethical issues, some of which relate to animal welfare — defined by the World Organization

for Animal Health as “the state of the animal…how an animal is coping with the conditions in

 which it lives” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3078015/) Many organizations

advocate for the ethical treatment of animals and believe animal testing should be eliminated

completely. There are laws and guidelines in place in order to help better protect animals created

by organizations like CCAC and USDA. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has set

forth federal regulations governing the care and use of laboratory animals in biomedical research

that are more extensive than those covering human subjects. The federal law called the Animal

Welfare Act (AWA) sets high standards of care for lab animals with regard to their housing,

feeding, cleanliness, ventilation and medical needs. It also requires the use of anesthesia or

analgesic drugs for potentially painful procedures and during post-operative care.” (https://

fbresearch.org/animal-care/animal-testing-regulations/) Even with these laws in place there is

still a large amount of pushback.

Mostly first world countries have access to products and medicines created by genetic

engineering. This is common across the board in biotechnology because the cost of R&D is very

high which leads to the products being more expensive. Many products that involve animal

testing such as cosmetics and cosmetic procedures, are also mainly available in first world

countries. Whether or not this is a good thing is up for debate. The important thing to realize is

that those who have access to these technologies and benefits of said technologies adopt the

responsibility of making sure that they are ethically handled and created while also pushing for

these benefits to be more widely available to people of all financial backgrounds.

I believe animal testing is the safest and most efficient way to test certain products and

medical procedures. It allows for us to trial these technologies on animals with less intelligence

and shorter life spans so we can make sure they are safe to release to a population of billions.

Animal testing needs to be handled responsibly and ethically and as long as that is the case, I

think it has more pros than cons. I allows our world to stay safer during points of rapid

progression in science, biotechnology, and medicine.