There are a variety of intrinsic concerns about the ethics of crop biotechnology, These concerns stem from a number of separable but loosely linked assumptions about the religious and moral status of the natural world and about the relationship that mankind should have with that world. Assumptions of this kind, some of which appear to be widely held, cannot be proved right or wrong, but they should be analysed in order to clarify the concepts and principles on which they depend. Some of the key questions are: Should religious believers see modern biotechnology as a blasphemous affront to God or a creative opportunity to work with him? Can any moral guidelines be provided by what happens in Nature? Can any charges of intrinsic moral wrongness be brought against crop biotechnology which are not equally applicable to traditional methods of selective breeding?

The issue of the genetic manipulation of plants, animals and microbes is addressed within the context of food production. Genetic manipulation is defined within the wider area of biotechnology and some of the main benefits of its use are summarised; safety and risk are examined and some of the socioeconomic problems it can create are discussed. It is concluded that the technique can offer great potential benefits in terms of increased quantity and improved quality of food, but it raises social/ethical concerns which can be summed up by asking: Is it safe? Is it fair? Is it natural?

This paper looks at extrinsic concerns about biotechnology. These extrinsic concerns are more open to debate than intrinsic concerns, as they invite discussion about what the most likely consequences really are and suggestions about how they might be avoided or modified. In practice, however, they appear to be expressed as vehemently and dogmatically as the intrinsic variety, and so stand in equal need of detached ethical appraisal. These extrinsic concerns include issues such as the balance between risks and benefits, the ethics of patenting life-forms and the likely socioeconomic impact of biotechnology.

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