By CLAIRE BENJAMIN
Farm World Intern-Illinois

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — While the Food and Drug Administration studies the idea of allowing transgenic livestock to enter the U.S. food supply, many in the scientific community wonder if these animals should exist, at all.

Genetically engineered salmon, that mature two times faster than conventional salmon, have brought bioethics – which considers the ethical implications of biological research and applications - to the forefront of discussions across the United States.

The company that developed the transgenic salmon, AquaBounty Technologies, Inc., attended the first Livestock Biotech Summit on Sept. 30 in Sioux Falls.

“The world population will double again in about 20 years,” said AquaBounty chief executive Dr. Ron Stotish. “Salmon aquaculture is one of the sources of a fairly healthy, high protein, high omega-3 seafood.

“Without the use of approved technologies it’s very difficult to imagine how we are going to meet those markets and how we are going to feed the generations to come.”

Some critics have dubbed the salmon as “Frankenfish.” The nickname may stem from one philosophical viewpoint described by Raymond Anthony, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. He said “introducing novelty into the genome” is associated with the idea of “playing God” or tampering with evolution.

“For many of us, especially those working in the area of animal ethics, there is some concern about how to consider these creations,” Anthony explained, referring to the transgenic salmon. “This is embodied in public concern as well.”

Stotish defended his company’s work.

“We don’t have a messiah complex that we are going to feed the world with either smoked salmon or poached salmon,” he said. “But we do think this is an example of technology where we can aid in the production of an important and desirable food product and do so in an environmentally sustainable way.”

Anothony advocated for ethical conversations based on different perspectives between the scientific community and the public.
Bioethical concerns may encourage companies like AquaBounty to follow the example of New Zealand-based companies, such as Ag Research Limited, a business that uses biotechnology to better the pastoral sector.

VishVishwanath of AgResearch Limited said, “One of the requirements in our approval process, even before we do any work, is to be able to communicate with the indigenous population.”
Scientists in New Zealand are leading conversations with the indigenous Maori people, who place societal significance on human lineage. Most Maori introductions include their tribe and the tribes of their parents.

“We, as scientists, had to go explain to them and have this conversation to show what we are doing doesn’t really disrupt that lineage, because anything that modifies genes, or modifies the integrity of those genes, the Maori considers a disruption (of that family lineage),” Vishwanath explained.

Some Maori believe that placing human genetics in other species breaks human lineage. These transgenic animals are made more like humans when humans are meant to be sacred Vishwanath said.

Another solution may be the “Ethical matrix,” suggested by Anthony as a guide for analyzing bioethical issues. This method is a “structured way of working together through some of the ethical issues” said Anthony.

The matrix is a table that assesses well being, autonomy and justice in relation to interest groups affected by the proposed biotechnology. The matrix promotes “rational thought and democratic deliberation,” concluded Anthony.

“Biotechnology has recently caught the imagination of practical philosophers, like myself, who are interested in how some of these new techniques, like genetic modification, is impacting not only human safety, the environment, but also animal well being,” Anthony added.

A majority of the summit was devoted to the discussion of the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Training, a tool for scientists to ensure animal well being. The guide addresses animal health care, husbandry, housing, biosecurity and transportion.

Proper care for beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses, poultry, sheep/goats and swine is included.

This guide is one of three used to gain Assoc. for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International accreditation. The AAALAC website states accreditation is a “bridge between progress and animal well-being”. Gaining accreditation is voluntary through the private, nonprofit organization.

“We are AAALAC accredited and have met all the requirements. We are very concerned about animal welfare and health and so we meet and try to exceed those requirements so the animals are well taken care of,” said Livestock Biotech Summit attendee and Exemplar Genetics president John Swart. “If you live in the Midwest you will know there is that opportunity to find those people who care about what they do and care about the animals, too.”