Ethical issues related to biotechnology include:
A. Free exchange of scientific knowledge without restriction
B. Crossing between different species
C. Patenting of organisms
D. Safety of GM foods
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → B, C and D only
Ethical issues are questions of right and wrong that arise when living organisms are changed by humans. The manipulation of living organisms cannot go on without regulation, and that ethical standards are needed to judge the morality of such work. The Indian Government set up GEAC, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, to decide on the validity of GM research and on the safety of introducing GM organisms.
A. Free exchange of scientific knowledge without restriction — Incorrect. Sharing knowledge freely is not an ethical problem. The concern in biotechnology is the opposite: the exclusive control of biological material through patents.
B. Crossing between different species — Correct. Moving genes from one species into another creates organisms that nature did not produce. This is a form of manipulation of living organisms that raises moral questions.
C. Patenting of organisms — Correct. A patent gives exclusive rights over a living organism or its product. It raises the question of who may own life forms, and it is linked to biopiracy, the use of a nation’s biological resources without proper authorisation.
D. Safety of GM foods — Correct. Genetic modification can have unpredictable results, so the safety of GM organisms and foods for people and the ecosystem is an ethical issue.