The Ethics of Genome Editing in Livestock

Dr Katrien Devolder

PI:  Dr Katrien Devolder

Wellcome Trust 208189/Z/17/Z

Genome editing in livestock (GEL) could potentially be used to mitigate urgent global problems of infectious disease, antimicrobial resistance, global warming, and animal suffering while also increasing agricultural productivity. Despite its imminence and potentially transformative potential, there has been minimal ethical debate about GEL. This project will provide the first in-depth philosophical analysis of GEL, focussing on four questions on which such research is most urgently needed: (1) How far do ethical concerns raised in relation to conventional genetic engineering using previous techniques carry over to GEL? (2) Are the arguments in favour of GEL best understood in terms of cost-benefit analysis, an obligation to 'arm ourselves for the future' or an obligation to correct past complicity in unethical agricultural practices? (3) How should duties to animals be understood in the context of GEL, and what is the relative importance of welfare, respect, and avoidance of commodification? (4) Would application of GEL to improve human and animal welfare entail complicity in maintaining unethical agricultural practices and if so, how could this complicity be reduced or offset? I will then investigate how my findings bear on how GEL should be regulated, and on related areas of public policy.

Resources

Hornless Cattle - is Gene Editing the Best Solution?

In this talk, Prof. Peter Sandøe argues that, from an ethical viewpoint, gene editing is the best solution to produce hornless cattle. There are, however, regulatory hurdles. Presented at the workshop 'Gene Editing and Animal Welfare, 19 Nov. 2019, Oxford.

Cavaliere, G., Giubilini, A. and Devolder, K., (2019), 'Regulating Genome Editing: For an Enlightened Democratic Governance', Cambridge Quarterly of Health Care Ethics, Vol: 28(1): 76-88 [PMC6316359]

Devolder K., (2020), 'Genome Editing in Livestock', in D. Edmonds (ed.) Future Morality (OUP) [forthcoming]

Devolder, K. and Douglas, T., (2019), 'A Conception of Genetic Parenthood', Bioethics, Vol: 33(1 (January 2019)): 54-59 [PMC6549223]

Devolder, K. and Eggel, M., (2019), 'No Pain, No Gain? In Defence of Genetically Disenhancing (Most) Research Animals', Animals (Basel), Vol: 9(4) [PMC6523187]

Advisor (written and oral contributions) at a workshop organized by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on gene editing in farm animals, London, 17 July 2019.

Organiser of a workshop on gene editing in animals, funded by the Society for Applied Philosophy, Oxford (19 November 2019).

Devolder K, Yip, L, Douglas T. The Ethics of Human-Animal Chimeras and Animal-Animal Chimeras. The ILAR Journal. (Accepted, 16 Jan 2020 -  2020 Apr 24;ilaa002. doi: 10.1093/ilar/ilaa002. Online ahead of print)