Attitudes towards genome editing in farmed animals: An interview study

Abstract

The ethical debate about genome editing in animal breeding lacks disciplinary diversity and public engagement. This paper aims to address both issues by presenting 23 interviews with stakeholders from animal breeding, animal advocacy, and animal farming, which covered human-animal relations, breeding technologies, and the future of farming. Six distinct patterns of argumentation were identified: technology is neutral, an already-existing issue, a dystopian future, consumer capitalism, playing God, and a technological fix. Distinguishing between these six lines of argumentation improves the understanding of the diversity of views in the public debate on the use of CRISPR Cas9 in animal breeding. This is an essential step for further research into public attitudes and public dialogue on novel techniques in animal breeding.