Playing God or Serving Mammon

On 6 November, I gave a presentation to about 35 people about the ethical concerns shaping public debates regarding agricultural crop biotechnology. I wanted to summarize the key contours of these debates, especially as they have engaged the Catholic community and tradition, and describe what I believe to be a more constructive approach to these issues. Most of the debates have fractured on the socio-economic benefit versus ecological harm divide, with advocates insisting that a moral imperative exists to develop the technology so as to feed a hungry world. Critics point to the risk consequences of the technology, following the same general path as the critics of agro-pesticides.

In contrast, I recommend critiquing the very broad patents on transgenic organisms as inconsistent with Catholic social teaching about economic justice. Seeds, like plants, were historically understood to be “the common heritage of humanity,” and thus ineligible for patents. This is consistent with a Catholic vision of the common good. Patents are now awarded for genes, gene sequences, engineered genes, and the technical processes which support transgenic engineering. This commodification of life seems to be incompatible with a Catholic vision for agriculture, food and society. Indeed, patents and the “negative property right” this represents seem likely to thwart efforts to feed the world. Patents are very well designed to reward inventors for their inventions, however, agriculture is fundamentally different than industry. The current ag biotech patent regime may be well suited for rewarding invention, however, it is poorly designed for meeting the needs of the poorest people in the world, many of whom depend on subsistence agriculture, and cannot afford to buy seeds.

This talk was based on an article in the Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics.

Keith Douglass Warner OFM is a Franciscan Friar, and has worked at Santa Clara University since 2003. He lectures in the Religious Studies Department, and serves as assistant director for education at the Center for Science, Technology & Society, and is the Faculty Director for the Xavier Residential Learning Community. For another blog entry he wrote on agriculture, science, and social power, check out http://scienceblogs.com/worldsfair/2008/11/agroecology_in_action.ph