The lively ethics of global health GMOs: The case of the Oxitec mosquito

Abstract

Social scientists have recently brought renewed attention to the relationship between epidemics and environmental change. Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases (for example, dengue, malaria, avian influenza) are exacerbated by disturbances to the environment, yet historically most solutions to these problems tend to involve further disturbances to environments, notably the mass destruction of non-human life (for example, pigs, sheep, cattle and insects). This article analyzes ethical debates that arose in 2010, when the British biotechnology firm Oxitec Ltd. announced a field test of a technology that would change this story: a genetically modified (GM) version of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue. Designed to control mosquito populations through interbreeding, Oxitec's mosquitoes are an example of what I call 'global health Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)'. As both environmental interventions, like GM crops, and biomedical technologies, like pharmaceuticals, such organisms challenge not only the moral position of social scientists vis-à-vis vector-borne or zoonotic disease but also the relationship of environmental ethics to bioethics. Addressing these challenges alongside the abiding question of for-profit biotechnology's role in global health, I suggest that global health GMOs might be assessed through a 'lively ethics' that emerges not in discrete regulatory spaces ('body', 'nation-state', 'global environment') but in more fluid 'moral spaces'.

Introduction: Human Animal Health in Medical Anthropology

“…Disease‐carrying mosquitoes from the Aedes and Anopheles genuses, once vilified as enemies to human beings, are now being turned into tools for disease control. Transgenic manipulations have produced populations of mosquitoes that either cannot transmit diseases like dengue and malaria or cannot reproduce in the wild (Beisel and Boëte ; Lezaun and Porter ; Nading ). For these novel populations to be effective tools (and viable sources of lively capital), technicians must feed them and provide them with shelter.…”

The Release of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso: Bioeconomy of Science, Public Engagement and Trust in Medicine

“…We suggest a standard public health approach of science communication that informs the public about facts, benefits, and risks would not do justice to the complexities. Furthermore, being sensitive to the setting requires a “lively ethic” based on an acknowledgment of vital difference, not similarity of actors and settings (Nading 2015). For instance, the local population is highly diverse in terms of economic background and educational level, to name just two important factors that would need to be taken into consideration.…”

Kişilik Tiplerinin Gıda Tercihlerine Etkisi (Effect of Personality Traits on Food Preference)

“…Literatür tarandığında, organik ürünlerin seçimine etki eden faktörler (Baker vd., 2004;Hjelmar, 2011;Paul ve Rana, 2012), çevre ve sağlık üzerine etkisi (Magnusson vd., 2003;Mondelaers vd., 2009), ve organik ürün pazarı (Ruiz de Maya vd., 2011) ile alakalı çalışmalar yapıldığı görülmektedir. Genetiği değiştirilmiş ürünler için yapılan çalışmalar ise etik ve risk faktörleri (Wynne, 2001;Levidow ve Carr, 1997;Nading, 2015), tüketicilerin bilgi düzeyi (Chern ve Rickertsen, 2001;Noussair vd., 2003), ve sağlık üzerine etkileri (Sapkota vd., 2008;Séralini vd., 2009;Landrigan ve Benbrook, 2015) (Engdahl, 2009:22).…”

“…yiyecek tüketimi ile sağlık endişesi arasındaki ilişki (Apaolaza vd., 2018;Chryssohoidis ve Krystallis, 2005), tüketicilerin organik yiyecek satın almalarına ilişkin motivasyonel faktörlerin belirlenmesi (Özgüven, 2012), organik ürün tüketicilerinin organik ürünleri tercih nedenleri (Stolz vd., 2011) ile alakalı çalışmalar bulunmaktadır. Genetiği değiştirilmiş ürünler için ise yapılan çalışmalar etik, risk ve sağlık faktörleri (Wynne, 2001;Levidow ve Carr, 1997;Nading, 2015) üzerine yoğunlaşmıştır. Literatür incelendiğinde bu gıdaların tercih nedenleri, sağlık, çevre ve risk faktörleri ile beraber incelenmesine rağmen kişilik boyutu ile alakalı çalışmalara az sayıda rastlanılmıştır (DeLong ve Grebitus, 2018;Grebitus ve Dumortier, 2016).…”

“…When the literature is reviewed, the factors affecting the selection of organic products (Baker vd., 2004;Hjelmar, 2011;Paul ve Rana, 2012); environmental and health impacts (Magnusson vd., 2003;Mondelaers vd., 2009), and studies on the organic product (Ruiz de Maya vd., 2011) market. Studies for genetically modified products are related to ethical and risk factors (Wynne, 2001;Levidow ve Carr, 1997;Nading, 2015), consumers' knowledge level (Chern ve Rickertsen, 2001;Noussair vd., 2003) and health effects (Sapkota vd., 2008;Séralini vd., 2009;Landrigan ve Benbrook, 2015).…”