Engineering Sterile Seeds Against the Codes of Ethics

1. 0011 Vidic 2:00
L16
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
2013-10-01
TERMINATOR TECHNOLOGY: ENGINEERING STERILE SEEDS AGAINST THE CODES OF ETHICS
Kristin Zucarelli (kmz22@pitt.edu)
INTRODUCTION: THE DEVASTATING IMPACT OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF STERILE SEEDS IN RURAL INDIA
Engineers have a responsibility to create products and develop innovations that improve the world; therefore, what happens when a technology that engineers created causes hardship to millions of Indian farmers?
Ethical Scenario: Food Shortage in India Caused by Seed Sterility
As a young engineer working at a plant that uses genetic use restriction technology, also known as terminator technology, to produce sterile seeds, I am constantly surrounded by controversy. To create these sterile seeds, my company uses a form of genetic engineering. The seeds are genetically modified “when the genes of one species are put into the DNA of another species. Transformation is achieved when the foreign genetic material permanently alters the receiving seed’s DNA”, which gives the plant a different feature, such as sterility [1]. The process to create these sterile seeds is even more complicated and risky because throughout the process, “three genes remain linked together” and if one malfunctions and passes on in reproduction without the other two, all the seeds produced go to waste [2]. The three genes can switch on and off and are initiated by the seed company through the addition of an inducer to start the gene interactions before the seeds are sold. It is extremely complicated and difficult to “ascertain whether all the seeds treated with the tetracycline inducer have triggered the gene switch” [3]. Because of how complex the system is, many companies that tried to recreate the original process that Monsanto, an agricultural biotechnology giant, first patented in the late 1990s failed [4]. My company was the first to actually complete and perfect the method and is extremely successful because of it.
Intentionally making seeds so they cannot reproduce is understandably controversial, so when I saw an article printed out on my desk one morning, I was about to throw it out when I read the title: “Food Shortage in India Reaches All-Time Low”. Underneath it, the subtitle made it clear why this article was applicable to our company’s work. It read, “Widespread Distribution of Sterile Seeds Causes Thousands of Farms to Close”. This was not good. Assuming it was my boss who put the article on my desk to look at, I stopped by his office to ask what we were going to do about it. However, when he looked at the article, he threw it in the trash, asserting that it was just another persuasive article written by “one of those human rights groups” exaggerating facts to try to get attention. He reminded me of all the reasons why we produce these sterile seeds. Not only does our company receive enormous profit from the seed distribution companies purchasing our sterile seeds, which leads to higher wages, but sterile seeds are also useful for farmers because they “keep genetically engineered crops from contaminating fields…with products from a new generation of crops engineered to produce chemicals or pharmaceuticals” [2]. I assumed he was right so I went back to my office to prepare for another day in the lab. However, I couldn’t help but realize all the negative effects the sterile seeds that we produce have on people around the world, especially in a country as poor as India. Because the seeds they are receiving are sterile, the farmers who have the responsibility of providing for millions of people are having to continue to re-purchase seeds. Many farmers in India live in poverty, so they are not able to do that all the time, causing their farms to shut down, which eventually results in a nationwide food shortage. I keep thinking about all the emails I receive daily from agriculture and human rights organizations, urging our company to stop producing the seeds. They may be just “one of those human rights groups”, but they might have a point. Being just a few years out of college, I recently had to learn about the various codes of ethics that engineers are tied to and must be loyal to when doing their work. It might be time that I revisit those and see how my work falls in the ethical standards that engineering holds us to.
VIOLATING THE CODES OF ETHICS
The Ethical Scenario in Relation to the National Society of Professional Engineers’ Code of Ethics
According to the National Society of Professional Engineers, because the work that engineers do “has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life for all people”, it is imperative that engineers exhibit “honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare” [5]. The first fundamental canon of NSPE’s code of ethics for engineers clearly states that engineers shall “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” [5]. Engineers are expected to make discoveries and innovations that are beneficial to the public. By producing sterile seeds that inhibit farmers from using them more than once, engineers are directly causing difficulty for the farmers to both maintain their crops and keep their financial situation under control. The Indian farmers are

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experiencing this hardship because of the work engineers are doing to prevent them from re-using any seeds. Several ethical concerns from outside sources “have been raised about GM crops: potential harm to human health; potential damage to the environment; negative impact on traditional farming practice; excessive corporate dominance; and the ‘unnaturalness’ of the technology” [6]. Other fundamental canons of the code of ethics include to “avoid deceptive acts” and to “conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession” [5]. The boss of the company is being intentionally deceptive by disregarding anything that might be ethically wrong with the technology. The employees should recognize that their boss is being deceptive and should question his motives, not just agree with whatever he says because he signs their checks. Engineers have to consider the effects the technologies that they are developing are having on the world, not just the benefits that they receive because of the success of the products commercially. Engineers should make developments that are ethically sound and improve the world. If engineers keep innovating products, such as sterile seeds, that have a negative effect on people the usefulness of the profession in some areas of life, such as agriculture and food production, will be questionable.
The Ethical Scenario in Relation to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Code of Ethics
Chemical engineers are one of the several disciplines of engineering who work with genetic engineering in agriculture. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers states very similar canons in their code of ethics to the code of the National Society of Professional Engineers. Members of AIChE are expected to “be honest and impartial” and serve the public with fidelity, strive to “increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession” and use the knowledge and skill they have to enhance “human welfare” [7]. Similarly to NSPE’s code of ethics, AIChe’s code of ethics states that chemical engineers should “hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public”, “formally advise their employers or clients if they perceive that a consequence of their duties will adversely affect the present or future health or safety of their colleagues or the public”, and “conduct themselves in a fair, honorable and respectful manner” [7]. Engineers need to take a stand and stop using terminator technology to make seeds because it will affect the health of the public, especially the farmers who depend on the success of agriculture for their wellbeing. When they notice that something does not seem to be ethically right, they need to take the initiative to change that. With a situation that is causing hardship to millions of people in India, engineers need to come together to end the spread of the technology, make other seeds that can reproduce, and distribute those seeds to the farmers so they can start producing food again in order to end a national crisis.
INDIA AND BEYOND: WHAT ENGINEERS SHOULD DO ABOUT TERMINATOR TECHNOLOGY
As I started to do more research on the effects of our sterile seed technology, I began to realize that if we continued our production of sterile seeds, the entire world would experience a negative impact. Not only has the livelihood of 400 million farmers and the already precarious food security in India been put in jeopardy because of the technology, but the worldwide food market will be affected drastically. [8] Although not everyone in the world is a farmer or will be involved in the agricultural industry in his lifetime, if this technology is further researched and developed, it could have a massive effect on people all over the world. Everyone in the world consumes some sort of plant or fruit that comes from a seed or has seeds directly in it. It is mind-boggling to imagine all of the seeds we come across every day and how much it will affect the market if this technology becomes widespread. If farmers have to purchase more seeds constantly, prices of food will increase greatly. Being able to reuse seeds is not a new technology and is something that farmers have been able to do for centuries; however, “the desire to lure farmers back to purchase seeds every year has been visible since the development of hybrid corn, but many major crops, such as wheat, rice, soybeans, and cotton, are not usually grown from hybrid seeds”, allowing farmers to replant them and not have to go back to the companies and purchase more. [9]. “The combination of seed saving, brown bagging, and hybridization has allowed farmers in developing nations”, such as India, to continue to improve their crops [10]. Because farmers in developing countries have sustained their farms using these methods for so long, “they are highly sensitive to any issues that would impact their ability to produce crops”, such as their ability to save seeds that would be eliminated if terminator technology continues [10].
Engineers have an obligation to society to change systems that are inefficient in society and make innovations that improve life all around the world. If more engineers became aware of terminator technology and the extremely harmful effects it is having on agriculture in countries around the globe, something could be done about preventing its development. While there are some arguments which assert that terminator technology helps prevent the spread of genetically modified crops and the chemicals that come along with them into the farmers’ fields, the sterile seeds’ transgene could still “flow in the fields used to produce seed”, resulting in the “unwanted transfer of genetic material” [11,9]. Additionally, the biotechnology industry, including my own company, “claims that genetically engineered crops and traditionally bred crops are ‘substantially equivalent’” but many scientists have critiqued that concept as there are “insufficient guidelines to test foods to see if the assumption of substantial equivalence holds true” [9]. Terminator

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technology is simply a process used by big companies to take advantage of vulnerable farmers so they can gain more profit through the constant purchase of their seeds. There is nothing about terminator technology that encompasses bettering the health and welfare of the public or any other canon of an engineering code of ethics. This needs to be recognized by engineers and the technology cannot be further expanded.
CONCLUSION: THE ONLY SOLUTION: TERMINATE TERMINATOR TECHNOLOGY
Corporations that produce sterile seeds argue that sterile seed technology is “necessary to protect their economic interests and allow them to continue research into improved seeds” [10]. However, the livelihood and welfare of the farmers in India has been largely overlooked, which violates both the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ codes of ethics. The idea that “saving seeds is a common law right of farmers goes back to antiquity, but little has been done to officially fix that right” [10]. If farmers’ rights keep being violated by the production of sterile seeds, recent research has suggested that if terminator technology was to be commercialized further, “it would cost farmers billions of additional dollars in costs each year” [9]. If they are widely commercialized, a “radical change in global agriculture will take place with too little discussion and research. And the results? Seed saving will be all but terminated” [9]. As terminator technology is beginning to gain exposure and sources outside of engineering are starting to recognize its devastating effects, it is obvious that something must be changed. It is evident that there is no easy way to change terminator technology to produce sterile seeds to improve the lives of farmers and, furthermore, all the people who receive the food the farmers grow. The best solution to stopping food shortages and shutdowns of farms around the world would be to stop terminator technology all together. Engineers need to contact their bosses, or move on to different companies that don’t gain profit from exploiting poor farmers. Although ending terminator technology is extremely difficult to accomplish with big companies backing the technology, if engineers stay loyal to their codes of ethics, it is clear that ending terminator technology is exactly what needs to be done.
REFERENCES
[1] C. L. Nargolwala. (2012). “Renewable agriculture: transgenic contamination and patent enforcement threats.” Natural Resources & Environment. (Online Article) http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CA286390109&v=2.1&u=upitt_main&it=r&p=LT&sw= w&authCount=1
[2] H. Ledford. (2013). “Seed-patent case in Supreme Court.” Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science. (Online Article) http://www.nature.com/news/seed-patent-case-in- supreme-court-1.12445
[3] H. Daniell. (2012). “Molecular strategies for gene confinement in transgenic crops.” US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. (Online Article) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3471138/
[4] Y. Sang, R. J. Millwood, C. N. Stewart Jr. (2013). “Gene use restriction technologies for transgenic plant bioconfinement.” Plant Biotechnology Journal. (Online Article) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pbi.12084/pdf
[5] National Society of Professional Engineers. (2013). “NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers” NSPE. (Website) http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html
[6] A. Weale. (2010). “Ethical arguments relevant to the use of GM crops.” New Biotechnology. (Online article) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871678410005649#
[7] American Institute of Chemical Engineers. (2013). “Code of Ethics” AIChe: The Global Home for Chemical Engineers. (Website) http://www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics
[8] A. Shah. (2011). “Terminator Technology.” Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. (Online Article) http://www.globalissues.org/article/194/terminator- technology
[9] R. Caplan. (2011). “The Ongoing Debate Over Terminator Technology.” Georgetown International Environmental Law Review. (Online article) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871678410004504
[10] J. A. Barron. (2011). “Genetic Use Restriction Technologies: Do the Potential Environmental Harms Outweigh the Economic Benefits?” Georgetown International Environmental Law Review. (Online article) http://rt4rf9qn2y.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.
[11] J. Gressel. (2010). “Needs for and environmental risks from transgenic crops in the developing world.” New Biotechnology. (Online article) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871678410004504
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to my Chem0960 professor Dr. Susan Maleckar for suggesting this topic and telling me about the recent developments in chemical engineering. Thank you to Anne Schwan in the Engineering Library for helping me find sources to put in this paper. Finally, thank you to Lauren Gattos from the writing center for again helping me edit my final paper.

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