Ethics of modern developments in agricultural technologies

Food security, energy security, sustainability and globalisation have become core issues in the current political debate worldwide. This debate is enriched by other issues, including climate change, global trade, fluctuations in food and energy prices and the future need for additional energy sources, the revision of the EU common agricultural policy (CAP) and the link between the CAP and the EU economic strategy (the ‘Lisbon agenda’).

Food security and sustainability are therefore the main subjects of this opinion, which will refer mainly to primary production of food of plant origin, and not to other areas of the EU agricultural policy such as fisheries, livestock farming, food processing and green biotechnology for pharmaceutical uses. These, together with other issues that play a role in the global discussion on the CAP (such as fisheries, forestry, climate change and energy), will not be covered ‘specifically’ in this opinion, although they are all recognised by the group as being of fundamental importance in a global discussion on ethics in EU agriculture. However, the group also intends to formulate, in this opinion, an ethical frame for agriculture within which further EGE opinions addressing some of the abovementioned issues may be conceived in the future, respecting the group’s remit.

This EGE opinion is also conceived as a contribution to a global ethical debate on sustainable agriculture, in which international organisations and European institutions will work closely together to implement the UN millennium development goals and design sustainable and responsible agricultural policies.

Production, processing and distribution of agricultural products and food are generally accepted as routine parts of everyday life. Food and agriculture are means to an end that is not only technical, economic or political in nature but also inherently ethical, namely to feed the world’s population while respecting future generations’ needs and expectations in terms of food security, safety and sustainability.

The group is aware of the need to promote innovation in agriculture but it is equally aware that technologies alone cannot provide final solutions to the challenges modern agriculture is facing in the EU and worldwide. However, the group supports all technologies in agriculture, insofar as they are conducive to the goals and priorities indicated in this opinion. The group also emphasises the need for an integrated view and an integrated approach on agricultural technologies, so that the production, storage and distribution processes are considered together when the ethical implications of any new technology are assessed.