Ethical issues in new biotechnology in agriculture

September 11, 2013
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Uppsala
Sweden

View the Call For Papers

Speakers:

Lisa Heldke
Gustavus Adolphus College
Ariel Salleh
University of Sydney
(unaffiliated)
Helena Siipi
University of Turku
(unaffiliated)

Topic areas

Talks at this conference

Add a talk

Details

The format for this one-day workshop involves four invited speakers plus selected submitted papers. We aim at intensive discussions and exchange on current ethical issues in biotechnology between scholars from the fields of e.g. philosophy, agrarian sciences, economics, ethics, political science, or sociology.

Potential topics include for discussions are ethical issues prompted e.g. by:

  • Biotechnologically developed crops are no longer solely focused on agronomic traits (like Bt or herbicide tolerance), but also on allegedly environmentally beneficial characteristics or purported consumer health benefits. See for instance the news clip on the ‘Low GI potato’: http://spectare.ucl.slu.se/nlfak/2012/tv4news/tv4news.html (in Swedish with English subtitles)
  • New technologies make it unclear what is to count as a genetically modified organism, both legally and ontologically.
  • Nature and naturalness are still important categories in the discussions about agriculture and ethics. Relatedly, the organic farming movement is ambivalent towards biotechnology, with some regarding it as a possibility and others as a (mere) threat.

Contact: [email protected]

Mistra Biotech is an interdisciplinary research program focusing on use of biotechnology for sustainable and competitive agriculture and food systems. The program started in 2013 and is funded by The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). More information about the program is available at: www.slu.se/mistrabiotech

The workshop is a satellite event to the EurSafe Congress (European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics) which runs in Uppsala between 11 and 14 September 2013, hosted by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). This year’s conference theme is “The Ethics of Consumption”. More information and registration at the conference web site: www.slu.se/eursafe2013

Supporting material

Add supporting material (slides, programs, etc.)

Reminders

Registration

No

Who is attending?

No one has said they will attend yet.

Will you attend this event?


Let us know so we can notify you of any change of plan.