•  
  •  

Home > Iowa Academy of Science > Journals & Newsletters > Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science > Volume 95 (1988) > Number 1

 

Document Type

General Interest Article

Keywords

Biotechnology, land-grant universities, ethical issues

Abstract

There is at least a prima facie moral tension between universities asserting land-grant principles and simultaneously sponsoring biotechnology. The core of the problem is the likely deleterious economic effects of biotechnology on rural communities -- the very constituency whose welfare is supposedly promoted by land-grant institutions. Considered are a number of responses to this tension including efforts to show that the tension is only apparent or that it can be eliminated through various public policies. It is argued that these "solutions" fail.

The upshot is that if the land-grant label is to be taken seriously, those institutions should begin allocating considerable resources to anticipating the social consequences of the technologies they sponsor, honestly inform the public of those consequences and encourage the kind of creative programs that will offset the downside of biotechnology in rural communities. It is likely that these programs will have little to do with the traditional emphasis on agricultural productivity.

Publication Date

March 1988

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

95

Issue

1

First Page

32

Last Page

34

Copyright

© Copyright 1988 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Download

Comments?

Share

COinS