Opinió de l’EGE sobre els Aspects Èticsde la Clonació d’Animals per a l’Alimentació

Pere PuigdomènechCentre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica CSIC-IRTA-UAB. BarcelonaMembre del Grup Europeu d’Ètica de les Ciènces i les Noves Tecnologies

Què és l’EGE?

European Group on Ethics in Science

and New Technologies (EGE)

• The EGE is an independent, pluralist and multidisciplinary body which advises the

European Commission on ethical aspects of science and new technologies in connection

with the preparation and implementation of

Community legislation or policies

http://europa.eu.int/comm/european_group_ethics/index_en.htm

Göran Hermerén, Linda Nielsen, Rafael Capurro, Inez de Beaufort, Pere Puigdomenèch Rosell and Günter Virt, (from the former EGE)

new members: Emmanuel Agius, Diana Bánáti, Anne Cambon-ThomsenJozef Glaza, Hille Haker, Julian Kinderlerer, Krzysztof Marczewski Paula Martinho da Silva, Francesco Busnelli

European Group on Ethics in Science

and New Technologies (EGE)

• Following President Barroso's requests, in

2006-2007 the EGE has issued Opinions on

(1) ethics and nanomedicine, (2) Ethics review of FP7 human embryonic stem cells

projects (3) ethical apects of animal cloning

for food supply

EGE Opinion on Ethical Aspectsof Animal Cloning for food supply

• The EGE has already issued an Opinion

on ethics of animal cloning in 1997, but

due to the state of the art of the

technology at that moment, it did not

address the ethics of animal cloning

specifically for food supply. The EGE

Opinion complements and updates the

previous one and is intended to complement that of EFSA.

Mandat

• 10 months of internal working meetings,

expert hearings, a public consultation

launched in the Europa web site (800

contributions received) and a round table

with representatives from academia, industry,

NGOs, civil society, International

organisations and industry on January 16, 2008, the EGE has adopted the Opinion on

ethical aspects of animal cloning for food

supply.

Preparació

Gener 2008

Bases científiques

El procediment de clonació

Els animals són o no són idèntics?

Perspectives

Impacte en el mitjans de

comunicació

Descendants of Dolly

Scientists will have to work hard to persuade a cynical public to tuck in to the idea of

cloned meat

James RandersonMonday July 16, 2007The Guardian

How would you feel about tucking into a burger from a cloned cow or serving rashers of

cloned bacon to your kids? Since Dolly the sheep was revealed in 1997, cloning has

been a distant science for most people. But that will soon change. Scientists predicted

last week that cloned meat could be on American dinner plates within two years. And

Europe may not be far behind.

Un article a The Guardian

Mail from a reader:eh, I don't know, it's one thing to put unnatural things like chemicals on, and

in, meat. It's another thing to have the meat itself be unnatural. And by unnatural I mean there's no way that animal would have occurred in thenatural world. Kinda seems icky, gives me the creeps. I won't buy any.

Interès industrial

Clonació de toros braus

Informe de la FDA

Informe de la FDA

Informe de la FDA

Esborrany d’opinió EFSA

Esborrany d’opinió EFSA

Esborrany d’opinió EFSA

Recomenacions (EFSA)

Aspectes legals

Base legal

Problemes ètics

Focus de l’opinió

Arguments a favor

• The arguments in favour are mainly economical: To keep up European competition on the free market, to facilitate industrial development to improve food production and quality or to minimise costs (cheaper food production)

• Cloning may be an useful tool to acceleratebreeding of animals of specific lineage, such as cattle resistant to diseases or adverse conditions

• However the technique can also be used for theconservation of rare animal breeds and it has been tried to protect species in danger of extinction

Arguments en contra

• concerns based on human health and safety, animal health and welfare, animal integrity, biodiversity, risk of epidemics, social and economic consequences on rural areas, agricultural trade; negative effects on the attitude towards animals; ‘slippery slope’(cloning of human beings).

• The Group is aware that there are differing viewpoints on the moral acceptability of using animals in modern farming and is aware that there are some very strongly held views against the instrumental use of animals for human purposes regardless of positive consequences this might have for humans.The Group therefore recognises that, for some people, animal cloning for food supply is an ethically unacceptable practice, whatever conditions are required.

Arguments sobre la clonaciód’animals per alimentació

Seguretat alimentària

Salut i benestar animal

Biodiversitat i sustanibilitat

Conclusions

• In line with EFSA findings, and considering the current level of suffering and health problems of surrogate dams and animal clones, the EGE has doubts as to whether cloning animals for food supply is ethically justified. Whether this applies also to progeny is open to further scientific research.

• At present the EGE does not see convincing arguments to justify the production of food from clones and their offspring. If in the future food products derives from cloned animals were to be introduced to the European market, The EGE recommends that a number of requirements are met

Food safety

• To guarantee safety of food products for human consumption as a pre-condition for their marketing.

Animal welfare and health

• 1) To respect as much as possible animal welfare; 2) to carry out studies on long term animal welfare and health implications, including comparative analyses with other animal farming assisted and traditional reproductive technologies; 3) the Commission to prepare a Code of Conduct for responsible farm animal breeding, including animal cloning.

Traceability and Labelling

• 1) To apply the current EU legislation to food regarding traceability of food products. It should be ensured that EU legislation provides for the ability to identify individual animals where necessary; 2) Te EGE is aware of technical difficulties for labelling, nevertheless recommends the Commission to work out target procedures prior to the marketing of such food in the EU.

Biodiversity

• 1) To protect, as much as possible, biodiversityin farm animals stocks also to avoid risks of global epidemics; 2) the Commission to take proper measures to preserve the genetic heritage of animals' species.

Public perception

• To launch a thematic EUROBAROMETER survey on animal cloning for food supply.

• Public participation: The Commission should take a pro-active role by financing a number of as hoc initiatives aimed at promoting public debate.

Global Trade

• 1) to make the import of materials from cloned animals and their offspring (e.g. semen and food products) conditional to the requests indicated in this EGE Opinion (e.g. traceability provisions). 2) To launch an international discussion on considerations of free trade and ethical concerns regarding the cloning of animals;

Additional research

• To concentrate research efforts to solve the lack of knowledge on (1) scientific aspects indicated in the EFSA report; (2) animal welfare and health for other farmed species than the ones covered by EFSA and FDA; (3) ethical, legal and Social Implications of animal cloning for food; (4) qualitative studies on public perception; (5) exclusion clauses stated in EC/98/44 (Art. 6) and EPO 23d with regard to animal cloning for food; (7) research on food philosophy

Resum

• El Grup no ha trobat arguments essencials per proposar una prohibició o una moratòria a l’ús d’animals clonats per l’alimentació

• El Grup té dubtes de si el seu ús està justificat a la vista dels pocs avantatges i dels problemes de salut i benestar animal, de biodiversitat i de percepció pública

• El Grup proposa que se segueixi la salut dels animals i la seva descendència, que es considerin maneres d’informar el públic i els consumidors i que el plantegi la qüestió a nivell internacional

Moltes gràcies

Tot va començar amb Dolly!