Around 75% of the food we buy in stores is genetically modified. This is a problem that needs to be fixed. On the surface level, this doesn’t seem to be a problem, we’re getting food, for a good price. It’s not affecting us, we’re humans, and the issue of the suffering of these animals is far enough away from us, that we don’t acknowledge the problem. Animals aren’t that different from us, we have a purpose, and they have a purpose, when we start playing god, messing with their genes, we disrupt their lives and their future. This isn’t a problem they can fix for themselves, we need to help them. 

Genetically modifying animals for scientific and consumption purposes, is inefficient, and is invasive towards the animals. The process in genetically engineering animals, requires many animals for the gene-editing process to be successful, as many embryos that are injected into a female, don’t survive, and this ends up wasting critical resources (embryos, sperm, and DNA), that are gained by intrusive means. Also, out of the less than 10% of artificial embryos that do survive, only 1 – 30% of the embryos have the intended genes, such as; larger breasts in chicken, cows that produce more milk, ect. From an economic standpoint, according to Marketwatch.com, “It currently costs about $50,000 to clone a dog in the U.S.” If the price to genetically engineer an animal, with all the genes prepared, is $50,000 dollars, imagine the money required to create a creature, when you need to seek the genes from not just one animal. Not to mention that the process to create these embryos, and getting these genes, is extremely invasive to the animals involved.

Many males have to have vasectomies to aid in creating embryos, and females are forced into pregnancies they don’t ask for. Imagine if humans were having this done to them, these horrible things happening to them, with no way of fighting them. By one saying that it wouldn’t matter, that their only animals would be denying the sentience these animals have. While not at the level of human intelligence, these animals still know what is happening to them, they can still feel pain and loss.

We have enough resources to feed the people in the world, without genetically modifying animals. This being said, these animals can be useful for scientific purposes, but beyond that, it is ineffective, and inhumane to do so. We should stop buying animal products from places that source them from gene modifying facilities and try to buy them from reliable sources. We need to limit the use of these gene modifying methods, to stop the unnecessary suffering of these animals.

 

Word Count: 450

 

Works Cited

Albrecht, Leslie. “As the cost of dog cloning drops, here’s which breeds lead

     the pack.” MarketWatch, 14 Mar. 2018, www.marketwatch.com/story/

     when-it-comes-to-dog-cloning-these-breeds-lead-the-pack-2018-03-09.

     Accessed 24 Apr. 2020. 

 

Ormandy, Elisabeth H., et al. “Genetic engineering of animals: Ethical issues,

     including welfare concerns.” The US National Library of Medicine, May 2011,

     www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3078015/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2020. 

 

“The 3Rs and Animal Welfare.” Understanding Animal Research, 4 Dec. 2019,

     www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/animals/three-rs/. Accessed 24 Apr.

 

“SIX REASONS WHY GM ANIMALS ARE A BAD THING.” Compassion in world farming, 18

     Mar. 2014, www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2014/08/

     six-reasons-why-gm-animals-are-a-bad-thing. Accessed 2020.