Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-07T05:00:25.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

How Casuistry and Virtue Ethics Might Break the Ideological Stalemate Troubling Agricultural Biotechnology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Martin Calkins
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

This article begins by showing how recent controversies over the widespread promotion of artificially gene-altered foods are rooted in opposing ethical and ideological worldviews. It then explains how these contrasting worldviews have led to a practical, ethical, and ideological standoff and, finally, suggests the combined use of casuistry and virtue ethics as a way for both sides to move ahead on this pressing issue.

Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , July 2002 , pp. 305 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Statistics Board. 2000. Acreage June 2000. National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), US Department of Agriculture, 30 June 2000. Accessed 23 June 2001. Available from <http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/field/pcp-bba/acrg0600.pdf>..>Google Scholar
American Dietetic Association. 1998. Food Biotechnology: Safe, Nutritious, Healthful, Abundant, and Tasty Food, Hot Topics. Fact Sheet.Google Scholar
Aristotle. 1962. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Ostwald, Martin.Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
Arras, John D. 1991. “Getting Down to Cases: The Revival of Casuistry in Bioethics.” The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 16 (February 1991): 29–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barboza, David. 1999a. “Biotech Companies Take On Critics of Gene-Altered Food.” The New York Times, 12 November 1999: A1, A18.Google Scholar
Barboza, David. 1999b. “Monsanto and Pharmacia to Join, Creating a Pharmaceutical Giant.” The New York Times, 20 December 1999: A1, A22.Google Scholar
BioValidity. 2000. BioValidity Assists Food Industry Clients With Regulatory Research Needs In Wake of FDA Letter to Industry Regarding Supplements. Accessed 19 July 2001. Available from <http://www.biovalidity.com/>..>Google Scholar
Boatright, John R. 1999. “Does Business Ethics Rest On A Mistake?” Business Ethics Quarterly 9, 4 (October, 1999): 583–591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borlaug, Norman E. 1997a. Food Security in Africa. Congressional Testimony by Federal Document Clearing House, 1997, no. CGT9721900066.Google Scholar
Borlaug, Norman E. 1997b. “The Green Revolution: Peace and Humanity.” The Atlantic Monthly/Atlantic Unbound, January 1997.Google Scholar
Bowie, Norman E. 2000. “Business Ethics, Philosophy, and the Next 25 Years.” Business Ethics Quarterly 10, 1 (January, 2000): 7–20.Google Scholar
Buchholz, Rogene A. 1989. Fundamental Concepts and Problems in Business Ethics. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
Calkins, Martin. 2001. “Casuistry and the Business Case Method.” Business Ethics Quarterly 11, 2 (April, 2001): 237–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calkins, Martin J. and Werhane, Patricia H. 1998. “Adam Smith, Aristotle, and the Virtues of Commerce.” The Journal of Value Inquiry 32, 1 (March, 1998): 43–60.Google Scholar
Cavanagh, Gerald F. 1998. American Business Values With International Perspectives. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
Conly, Sarah. 1988. “Flourishing and the Failure of the Ethics of Virtue.” In Midwest Studies in Philosophy 13: Ethical Theory: Character and Virtue, ed. French, Peter A. and others, 83–96. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Conway, Gordon. 2000. Eliminating Global Hunger: USDA Millennium Lecture. Television Trust for the Environment (TVE’s Life), 2000. Accessed 3 July 2001. Streaming video. Available from <http://www.oneworld.net/tve/life/archive/life26main.html>..>Google Scholar
Council for Biotechnology Information. 2001. Accessed 28 June 2001. Available from <http://www.whybiotech.com/>..>Google Scholar
Council of the European Communities. 1990. Council Directive of 23 April 1990 On the Deliberate Release Into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms (90/220/EEC). Belgian Biosafety Server. Accessed 23 June 2001. Available from <http://biosafety.ihe.be/GB/Dir.Eur.GB/Del.Rel./90.220/TC.html>..>Google Scholar
De George, Richard T. 1993. “Ethical Responsibilities of Engineers in Large Organizations: The Pinto Case.” In Ethical Theory and Business, ed. Beauchamp, Tom L. and Bowie, Norman E.Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.: 130–137.Google Scholar
De George, Richard T. 1999. Business Ethics. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
DeGregori, Thomas R. 2000. Genetically Modified Nonsense. Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). Accessed 16 July 2001. Available from <http://www.iea.org.uk/env/gmo.htm>..>Google Scholar
DeGregori, Thomas R. 2001. Agriculture and Modern Technology: A Defense. Ames: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Deogun, Nikhil and Langreth, Robert. 1999. “Investors Are Wary of Pharmacia Merger.” The Wall Street Journal, 21 December 1999: A3, A6.Google Scholar
Deogun, Nikhil, Robert, Langreth, and Burton, Thomas M. 1999. “Pharmacia & Upjohn, Monsanto Boards Approve $27 Billion Merger of Equals.” The Wall Street Journal, 20 December 1999: A3, A4.Google Scholar
Dickson, David. 2000a. “And Calls for Openness and Transparency.” Nature 404, 6774 (9 March 2000): 112.Google Scholar
Dickson, David. 2000b. “GM Debate Must Go Global, Says Meeting.” Nature 404, 6774 (9 March 2000): 112.Google ScholarPubMed
Donahue, James A. 1990. “The Use of Virtue and Character in Applied Ethics.” Horizons 17, 2 (1990): 228–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, Thomas and Werhane, Patricia H., eds. 1999. Ethical Issues in Business: A Philosophical Approach. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
DuPont Biotechnology. 2000a. Principles. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, 2000. Accessed 19 July 2001. Available from <http://www.dupont.com/biotech/difference/principles.html>..>Google Scholar
DuPont Biotechnology. 2000b. Safety & Environment in Mind: Scientific Advances with Care. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, 2000. Accessed 19 July 2001. Available from <http://www.dupont.com/biotech/difference/safety.html>..>Google Scholar
Editor. 1998. “Environmentally Correct Since 1506.” Environment 40, 1 (January/February, 1998): 23.Google Scholar
Editor. 2000. “Friends of Al?” The Wall Street Journal, 15 February 2000: A26.Google Scholar
Fairclough, Gordon. 2001. “Technology (A Special Report): What’s Ahead For … Tobacco.” The Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2001: R15.Google Scholar
Fialka, John J. 2000. “EPA Gets Stricter On Altered Corn To Aid Butterflies.” The Wall Street Journal, 17 January 2000: B12.Google Scholar
Fumento, Michael. 2000. “Why Europe Fears Biotech Foods.” The Wall Street Journal, 14 January 2000: A14.Google Scholar
Greenberg, David and Graham, Mary. 2000. Improving Communication About New Food Technologies. Issues in Science and Technology Online, 2000. Accessed 19 July 2001. Available from <http://www.nap.edu/issues/16.4/greenberg.htm>..>Google Scholar
Hamilton, David P. 2001. “Biotech Convention Draws More Visitors for 2001, as Protestor Numbers Dwindle.” The Wall Street Journal, 28 June 2001: B4.Google Scholar
Hanson, K. O., and Weiss, S. 1991. Merck & Co., Inc.: Addressing Third-World Needs. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Publishing, no. 9-991-021 to 024.Google Scholar
Hoffman, W. Michael. 1995. “The Ford Pinto.” In Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, ed. Michael Hoffman, W. and Frederick, Robert E.New York: McGraw Hill, Inc.: 552–559.Google Scholar
Huber, Peter. 1999. “Ecological Eugenics.” The Wall Street Journal, 20 December 1999: A26.Google Scholar
International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC) 1999a. Benefits of Biotechnology: Just Around the Corner, Food Biotechnology. Fact Sheet.Google Scholar
International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC). 1999b. Food Biotechnology: Health & Harvest for Our Times. Pamphlet.Google Scholar
Jayaraman, K. S. 2000a. “GM Food ‘Dumped on India As Aid.’” Nature 405, 6789 (22 June 2000): 875.Google Scholar
Jayaraman, K. S. 2000b. “Govt Gives Monsanto Biosafety Clearance.” The Times of India, 8 May 2000.Google Scholar
Jenkins, Holman W. Jr. 1999. “Fun Facts to Know and Tell About Biotechnology.” The Wall Street Journal, 17 November 1999: A23.Google Scholar
Johnson & Johnson. 2001. Our Credo. Accessed 2 July 2001. Available from <http://www.jnj.com/who_is_jnj/cr_usa.html>..>Google Scholar
Jonsen, Albert R. 1991. “Casuistry as Methodology in Clinical Ethics.” Theoretical Medicine 12, 4 (December 1991): 295–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jonsen, Albert R. 1993. “Platonic Insults: Casuistical.” Common Knowledge 2, 2 (Fall 1993): 48–66.Google Scholar
Jonsen, Albert R. 1995. “Casuistry: An Alternative or Complement to Principles?” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 5, 3: 237–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jonsen, Albert R., and Toulmin, Stephen. 1988. The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Kilman, Scott. 1999a. “FDA Signals Tighter Biofood Oversight As Pressure From Opponents Increases.” The Wall Street Journal, 19 November 1999: A8.Google Scholar
Kilman, Scott. 1999b. “Monsanto Is Sued Over Genetically Altered Crops.” The Wall Street Journal, 15 December 1999: A3, A6.Google Scholar
Kilman, Scott. 1999c. “Once Quick Converts, Farmers Begin to Lose Faith in Biotech Crops.” The Wall Street Journal, 19 November 1999: A1, A8.Google Scholar
Kilman, Scott. 2000. “Biotech Ad Campaign Attempts to Shape U.S. Attitudes Toward Modified Crops.” The Wall Street Journal, 4 April 2000: B6.Google Scholar
Kilman, Scott. 2001a. “U.S. Farms to Lift Modified-Seed Use 10% This Spring.” The Wall Street Journal, 2 April 2001: B9.Google Scholar
Kilman, Scott. 2001b. “Use of Genetically Modified Seed By U.S. Farmers Increases 18%.” The Wall Street Journal, 2 July 2001: B2.Google Scholar
Kilman, Scott, and Burton, Scott. 1999. “Monsanto Boss’s Vision Of ‘Life Sciences’ Firm Now Confronts Reality.” The Wall Street Journal, 21 December 1999: A1, A10.Google Scholar
Lagnado, Lucette. 1999. “For Those Fighting Biotech Crops, Santa Came Early This Year.” The Wall Street Journal, 14 December 1999: A1, A8.Google Scholar
Leggett, Karby. 2001. “Unveiling Rules on Genetic Engineering, Beijing Embraces a Controversial Science.” The Wall Street Journal, 8 June 2001: A13.Google Scholar
Lipin, Steven, Raghavan, Anita, and Moore, Stephen D. 1999. “AstraZeneca and Novartis Near a Deal.” The Wall Street Journal, 2 December 1999: A3.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, Alasdair. 1984. After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. 2nd ed. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
McCloskey, Donald. 1994. “Bourgeois Virtue.” American Scholar 63 (Spring 1994): 177–191.Google Scholar
Meilaender, Gilbert C. 1984. The Theory and Practice of Virtue. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Monsanto. 2001a. Business Purpose and Mission. Monsanto Company, 2001. Accessed 2 July 2001. Available from <http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/about_us/business_purpose_mission/default.htm>..>Google Scholar
Monsanto. 2001b. A Story of Sweetpotatoes. Monsanto Company, 2001. Accessed 28 June 2001. Available from <http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/biotechnology/background_information/00sept27_swpotatoes.html>..>Google Scholar
National Agricultural Library. 2001. Biotechnology Information Resource (BIC). US Department of Agriculture (ARS): 5 April 2001. Accessed 19 July 2001. Available from <http://www.nalusda.gov/bic/>..>Google Scholar
Phillips, Robert A., and Margolis, Joshua D. 1999. “Toward An Ethics Of Organizations.” Business Ethics Quarterly 9, 4 (October, 1999): 619–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollack, Andrew. 2000. “130 Nations Agree On Safety Rules For Biotech Food.” The New York Times, 30 January 2000: A1, A6.Google Scholar
Raloff, Janet. 2000. The Case for DDT. Science News, 1 July 2000. Accessed 28 June 2001. Available from <http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1200/1_158/63692741/p1/article.jhtml>..>Google Scholar
Reporter. 1987. “Miracle Worker.” Time, 2 November 1987: 78.Google Scholar
Reporter. 1999. “Novartis Wins Court Ruling In Europe on Plant Patents.” The Wall Street Journal, 21 December 1999: A10.Google Scholar
Schiermeier, Quirin, and Dickson, David. 2000. “Europe Lifts Patent Embargo On Transgenic Plants and Animals.” Nature 403, 6765 (6 January 2000): 3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. 1831. Frankenstein. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley Publishers.Google Scholar
Smaglik, Paul. 2000a. “Educated US Public Get More Wary of Genetic Engineering.” Nature 405, 6790 (29 June 2000): 988.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smaglik, Paul. 2000b. “US Tightens Up On ‘Speculative’ Claims.” Nature 403, 6765 (6 January 2000): 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solomon, David. 1988. “Internal Objections to Virtue Ethics.” In Midwest Studies in Philosophy 13: Ethical Theory: Character and Virtue, ed. French, Peter A. and others. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press: 428–441.Google Scholar
Solomon, Robert C. 1998. “The Moral Psychology of Business: Care and Compassion in the Corporation.” Business Ethics Quarterly 8, 3 (July, 1998): 515–533.Google Scholar
Sophocles. 2000. Antigone. The Internet Classics Archive, 4 October 2000. Accessed 25 June 2001. Available from <http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html>..>Google Scholar
Staff Reporter. 1996. “Germany Gets in a Lather About Altering Beer Genes.” The Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition, 8 July 1996: A5.Google Scholar
Stecklow, Steve. 1999. “How a U.S. Gadfly And a Green Activist Started a Food Fight.” The Wall Street Journal, 30 November 1999: A1, A10.Google Scholar
Thavis, John. 1999. “Vatican Experts OK Plant, Animal Genetic Engineering.” St. Louis Review, 22 October 1999.Google Scholar
US Food and Drug Administration. 2000. Methods for Genetically Engineering a Plant. FDA Consumer Magazine, January–February 2000. Accessed 23 June 2001. Available from <http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/biochart.html>..>Google Scholar
Velasquez, Manuel G. 1998. Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
Werhane, Patricia H. 1998. “The Rashomon Effect.” In Perspectives in Business Ethics, ed. Laura, Pincus and Hartman, Edwin M.Chicago: McGraw Hill, Inc.:189–197.Google Scholar
Zimmerer, T. W., and Preston, P. L. 1976. “Plasma International.” In Business and Society: Cases and Text, ed. Hay, Robert D., Gray, Edmund R. and Gates, James E.Cincinnati: South-western Publishing Co.Google Scholar