Genome Editing Animals and the Promise of Control in a (Post-) Anthropocentric World

Abstract

Gene editing tools are ‘revolutionizing’ microbiological research. Much of the public debate focuses on the possibility of human germ line applications. The use of genome editing to alter non-human animals, however, will have more immediate impacts on our daily lives. Genome edited animals are used for basic biological and biomedical research and could soon play a role in the livestock industry and ecosystem management. Genome editing thus provides an occasion to rethink societal narratives about the relationships between humans and other animals. Even though the technique can be easily incorporated as an example into a conventional storyline about the development of the modern life sciences as striving for control over nature, it can also help to highlight the anthropocentric biases expressed in these narratives and demonstrate the continuities between humans and other animals.

Gene-Edited Meat: Disentangling Consumers' Attitudes and Potential Purchase Behavior

“…Therefore, we should not interpret the implications of the results of our study only in terms of its impact people's role as consumers, but also in terms of potential influence on people's role as citizens. Currently, livestock production and meat consumption are important issues politically [e.g., ( 26 , 50 )]. Therefore, negative attitudes toward gene-edited meat found in our study might not (only) have a large effect on the future consumption of potential products, but are also likely to have a strong influence on public opinion and in turn in policy and regulatory decisions.…”

“…Therefore, it is highly likely that societal attitudes toward GE food products of animal origin differ to those toward foods of plants origin. This is possibly because use of GE technology in livestock raises ethical issues that do not apply to crops, such as animal integrity and animal welfare, among others ( 26 – 28 ).…”