Transcript Animal ethics and livestock production

AWSC Scientific Meeting
ANIMAL ETHICS AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
WHERE ARE WE GOING WITH OUR
LIVESTOCK?
Professor JOHN HODGES
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ETHICS NEW TOPIC
IN AGRICULTURE
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ETHICS NEW TOPIC
IN AGRICULTURE
ALSO A NEW TOPIC
IN WESTERN SOCIETY
WHY ?
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ETHICS IN PUBLIC DOMAIN
European Parliament
Ethics Summit
EU Reflection Group on Spiritual
and Cultural Dimensions
World Bank
Moral and Spiritual Values
in Development
European Society for Agriculture
and Food Ethics
National Animal Science Societies
Ethic Sessions & Journals
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ETHICS
“FEEDING THE WORLD IS A MORAL
NOT AN ECONOMIC ISSUE”
NELSON MANDELA
MAY 2004 TO UN
COMMUNITY: EMPOWERING THE WEAK
TO HELP THEMSELVES
WITHOUT ETHICS COMMUNITY
IS UNSUSTAINABLE
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AGRICULTURE IS
CHANGING
HISTORIC ROLE
CAPITALIST RESOURCE
FOUNDATION FOR GLOBAL
COMMUNITY ?
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THE CHALLENGE: VALUES
FEED WORLD AND BUILD COMMUNITY
OR
SEE THE CHALLENGE ONLY AS A
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
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CO-OPERATION AND COMPEITION
IN NATURE AND
ECOSYSTEMS
IN ALL SUCCESSFUL HUMAN SOCIETIES
TODAY: COMPETITION RULES
SOCIAL DARWINISM
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CONTRASTING POSITIONS
ON TREATMENT OF LIVESTOCK
Arise from how we understand the
differences of species
Self perception of Homo sapiens
shapes our view of livestock in our new
society in which public decisions are based
only on economic values
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ANIMALS: TWO BROAD POSITIONS
Ethical protests on animal welfare
Dumb sentient animals unable to
present their own case
Business Management
No discomfort evident
Food, shelter, disease control
Animals experience of life is different
from humans
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HISTORIC REVOLUTIONS IN
AGRICULTURE
Hunting-Gathering (Pre-history)
Neolithic Revolution ( ~12,000+ years ago)
Domestication, Community, Morality
Agro-Industrial Revolution (1700 – 1945)
Flowing from Renaissance, Reformation,
Enlightenment
Intensification Era – Crisis (1945-1990)
Future – bleak unless we find new sustainable ways
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NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
Agricultural/Cultural ~12,000 years ago
New features of human civilization
Community living
Artifacts from new quality of life
Domestication of plants and animals
Spread from Middle East with livestock
Genetic drift forming diverse cultures
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Homo sapiens in Europe
Agriculture arrived with H. sapiens
from Middle East after cultural revolution
No Neanderthal Ancestors
Iceman in Alps
5,300 years ago
Mitochondrial DNA
90% modern European from 7 women
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1ST MAJOR SHIFT - NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
Agricultural/Cultural ~12,000 years ago
New quality of life factors
Community living
Belief in transcendence
Morality
Acceptable social behaviour
Lawmaking
Ethical standards
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MAJOR SOCIAL – CULTURAL SHIFT
IN EUROPEAN SOCIETY
1400- 1700
Renaissance
Reformation
Enlightenment
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EMERGENCE OF INDUSTRY AND
INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE
1800 - 2000
Intensification/Scale
Reductionism
Livestock Separated from Human
Community
Sustainability
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ETHICS IN FOOD CHAIN
Concerns Fueled by
GENE-TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY
ANIMAL WELFARE
MARRIAGE OF SCIENCE AND BUSINESS
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ETHICS IN FOOD CHAIN
BOOKS BY SCIENTISTS
VOICING CONCERN OVER
NEGATIVE MOTIVES
AND EFFECTS IN THEIIR FIELDS
FAO EXPERT GROUP ON ETHICS
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ETHICS
KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
AND CHOOSING TO DO THE GOOD
SOCRATES
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ETHICS
TWO ESSENTIAL STAGES
DEALING WITH INNOVATION
DUE PROCESS
EXAMINE OPTIONS, IDENTIFY AND EXAMINE IMPACTS
AND RISKS FOR STAKEHOLDERS
DECISION-MAKING
TRANSPARENCY WITH WIN-WIN CONSEQUENCES
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ORIGIN OF ETHICS IN EUROPEAN SOCIETY
THE WEST
THOUSAND YEARS
OF JUDEO-CHRISTIAN
STANDARDS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
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“GOLDEN RULE” HAS BEEN THE NORM
Jesus
TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WISH THEM TO
TREAT YOU
By extension to husbandry
of natural resources, environment
agriculture
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ETHICS IN EUROPE
THOUSAND YEARS
OF JUDEO-CHRISTIAN
STANDARDS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
NORTH AMERICA
AUSTRALIA - NZ
CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS COLONIES OF EUROPE
JUDEO-CHRISTIAN STANDARDS
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DO YOUR OWN ETHICS
Smorgasbord Ethics
Serious implications for public
decision-making
Floating, relative morals
may be OK in private
Which standards in public ???
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A MAJOR SHIFT IN NORMS
OF WESTERN SOCIETY
God gone from market place
Morality now seen as private
Dilemma:
Do nothing
Call for voluntary ethical standards
Legislate ethically based standards
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ETHICS IN LIVESTOCK
PUBLIC DILEMMA OVER
TREATMENT OF LIVESTOCK
ANIMAL RIGHTS
ANIMAL WELFARE
FOOD SAFETY
HEALTH
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SPECIES: TWO POSITIONS
Identification with sentient species
Restraint needed in treatment of livestock
Dumb animals unable to express pain
(Animal rights ? )
No identification
H. sapiens is different
Leads to two positions: Exploitation or Stewardship
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welfare ?)
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SPECIES ARGUMENT
Identification position
Species have intrinsic rights
Encouraged by new freedoms for
minorities and subsets
Slaves
Women
Minority Ethnic Groups
Sexual Preferences
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SPECIES: NO IDENTIFICATION
Humans are humans: animals are animals
Humans are superior species
Dumb and incapacitated humans are cared for
This position brings ethics, not rights, into the equation
TWO PATHS
No ethics leads to continued intensification
With ethics – how to define public boundaries in
society where ethics are now private
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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ETHICS IN LIVESTOCK
PUBLIC DILEMMA
CASE OF MOLECULAR GENETICS
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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TRADITIONAL LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION CHANGES IN
LAST 50 YEARS
ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY
Higher throughput
in time and space
Return on capital
Reduced labour
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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TRADITIONAL LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION CHANGES IN
LAST 50 YEARS
BIOLOGICAL EFFICIENCY:
Prolificacy
Mortality
Genetic gain
Nutrition costs
Conversion rate
Ratio edible to inedible
Uniformity
Time conception to market
WHERE TO DRAW
THE LINE ?
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Molecular biology challenges the way we view
animals
Human Genome Project shows
major physical matching
If molecular boundaries of humans
and animals are minimal….
Why is Homo sapiens different?
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Molecular biology gives
unprecedented power to the human species over animals
The current batch of techniques
will lead to an endless vista of
options for engineering animals
WHAT ETHICS SHALL WE USE ?
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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Molecular biology challenges the way we view
ourselves
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE
HUMAN ?
Takes us back to our moral origin and nature
Civilization, community, law,
Acceptable and unacceptable behaviour,
Sanctions
Accountability, transparency,
Sustainability
Instinct versus moral freedom to choose
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Unprecedented power over all other
species
What will happen to Homo sapiens
as we behave like the
Top Animal Species ?
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Future scenario of intensive
livestock production
Current techniques lead to vista of
options for engineering animals
Remove unnecessary parts
Legs, feathers, beaks, eyes, ears,
Pigs with genes for beef muscle
Meat sheep with no wool
Quail without legs laying chicken eggs
Thinned animals skin
WHAT ETHICS SHALL WE USE ?
WHERE TO DRAW
THE LINE ?
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Feed line to supply nutrient
with hormones, enzymes etc
Blood line from specialist animals
providing perfect time for market
Fish genes removing need for heating
Maintenance costs reduced
Reproduction redesigned
Animals gender neutral
Duplicate genes from old male or female lines
Embryos grown in artificial uterus
WHAT ETHICS SHALL WE USE ?
WHERE TO DRAW
THE LINE ?
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BASIC ANIMAL FRAMEWORK
No species – template
Head, brain, for neural control
no eyes, ears mouth
No rumen, simple digestive tract
Stem cells added for products
Meat harvested
WHAT ETHICS SHALL WE USE ?
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WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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FANTASY ?
Simply - extension of reductionist values
without ethical limit
WHAT ETHICS SHALL WE USE ?
Utilitarian – Shareholder profit
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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WHO WILL DECIDE THE ETHICS
OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION ?
AT WHAT POINT SHALL WE STOP ?
OR BE STOPPED ?
BY WHOM ? AND WHEN ?
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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WITHOUT ETHICS WE RETURN
TO THE BARBARIC
LIFE OF NATURE
RED IN TOOTH
AND CLAW
WE CEASE BEING HUMAN AND ARE
MERELY TOP SPECIES
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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THEN WE INEVITABLY TURN
UPON OTHER DEFENCELESS
AND UNPRODUCTIVE INDIVIDUALS WITHIN OUR
OWN SPECIES
EUTHANASIA
Unproductive people
or
Uncooperative people
Eugenics & Reproductive control
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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ANCIENT AND RELIGIOUS WISEMEN
KNOW THAT ETHICS DETERMINES THE
NATURE OF HUMAN COMMUNITIES
ETHICS – KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL
AND CHOOSING GOOD
NO ETHICS – NO COMMUNITY
ETHICS DEFINES HUMANITY
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WHERE TO DRAW
THE LINE ?
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BOUNDARY SEPARATING MANKIND
FROM OTHER SPECIES
CARRIES RESPONSIBILITIES
FOR COMMUNITY OF ALL OF LIFE
AWARENESS OF TRANSCENDENT
IS BASIS OF ETHICS AND COMMUNITY
AND MAKES US HUMAN
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE ?
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OUR DECISION ABOUT LIVESTOCK
WILL DEFINE OUR OWN FUTURE
&
OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR IDENTITY AS
HUMANS
AWARENESS OF TRANSCENDENT
IS BASIS OF ETHICS AND COMMUNITY
AND MAKES US HUMAN
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WHERE TO DRAW
THE LINE ?
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“It is dangerous to show man too clearly
how much he resembles the beast
without at the same time
showing him his greatness
It is also dangerous to allow him too clear
a vision of his greatness without his baseness.
It is even more dangerous to leave
him in ignorance of both.
But it is very profitable to show him both”.
Blaise Pascal, 1623-62.
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