| The goal of this thesis is to answer the question: In light of the impacts of genetic engineering in agriculture, are current government policies that support and encourage the commercial distribution of genetically engineered seeds and food crops ethically justifiable? Process theology is used as the framework for ethical analysis. The "Ethical Matrix," originally developed by Professor Ben Mepham, Director of the Centre for Applied Bioethics at the University of Nottingham, is the tool used to facilitate ethical deliberation.;The impacts of government policies that support genetic engineering in agriculture are assessed from the perspective of farmers, biotechnology corporations, consumers, and the biota, and analysed according to the principles of well-being, autonomy and justice. These three principles are defined from a process theology perspective that views all beings as having intrinsic value, and considers each group in relation to every other group. From a process theology perspective, government policy-makers have a duty to consider the interrelatedness of all stakeholders and to use the principles of well-being, autonomy, and justice as key elements in a framework for ethical decision-making. Past and present information must be integrated in such a way that our deepest intuitions and our highest thoughts about matters of ultimate importance are considered. Policy corrections can then be made that better serve the present and future well-being of all the communities of beings that constitute the global community. We create our future by the decisions we make. |
