Paul Thompson (Professor of Philosophy and of Zoology, University of Toronto), Ethical Issues in Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops and the Organic Movement

There has been considerable public debate about food during the past two decades. Advocates for organic agriculture, eating locally grown food and rejecting genetic modification abound. Although many of the claims made in support of positions on these topics allude to health, environmental and economic issues, the core of the debates is ethical and philosophical and for some theological (benefits, harms, risks and human hubris and usurping of nature, for example). These ethical and philosophical issues are the focus of this lecture although the empirical claims made about health, the environment and the economy will form an essential backdrop.

Responses to the talk from Michel Morange, Jean Gayon, Michael Winter and Berris Charnley.

Downloads: Paul Thompson: HQ .mp4 [3.1GB], LQ .avi [438MB], .mp3 [156MB], .pdf. (Right click and "save as".)

Responses: HQ .mp4 [2.3GB], LQ .avi [271MB], .mp3 [94MB].

You can also watch this video on the IPBio Network's Youtube channel, here.