Theos-Talk Archives (June 1998 Message tt00257)

>>>Darren:
>>>Here is an ethical question I have been thinking about:
>>>
>>>If in the future geneticists are able to grow meat in a laboratory and the
>>>meat is identical to say a steak but never existed as part of a living
>>>animal, would it be ok to eat it?
>>>
>>>Darren
>>
>>Thoa:
>>My main concern about eating meat is the suffering of an animal.  Since no
>>animal was killed, I say it's okay to eat the meat.  Of course, if someone
>>is against genetic engineering, s/he would refrain from eating created meat
>>for that reason.  Since I don't generalize all genetic engineering as bad,
>>I find no harm in using genetic engineering to grow meat.  If people would
>>eat genetically engineered meat instead of butchering animals, then the
>>purpose is good.  Imagine the hunger that could be wiped out in this world!
>>
>>Thoa :o)
>
>Doss:
>May be that's how the world hunger is going to be solved.

This brings me to a question.  Is it ethical to clone humans, but
maintaining only the lower brain function for the preservation of the body,
for body parts?  If you could see nothing wrong with genetically engineered
meat, then why would you object to cloned body parts?  My main argument is
that there is a major difference between the two process.  A mass of meat
had its potential as a mass of meat and could not be anything more than a
mass of meat.  A human clone, however, started out from conception as a
potential full human.  It is only by harmful manipulation that its brain
did not develop.  Do you only cherish a life's present existence, or do you
also cherish its potential?  I suppose that's why some people eliminate
eating eggs along with eating anything crawling and alive.

Thoa :o)