Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Vexing Nature?

On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology

  • Book
  • © 2000

Overview

Authors:
  1. Gary L. Comstock

    1. Iowa State University, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 1-11

  3. The Case Against bGH (1988)

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 13-33

  4. Against Herbicide Resistance (1990)

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 35-93

  5. Against Transgenic Animals (1992)

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 95-138

  6. Against Ag Biotech (1994)

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 139-173

  7. Problems for the Case Against Ag Biotech, Part I: Intrinsic Objections

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 175-224

  8. Problems for the Case Against Ag Biotech, Part II: Extrinsic Objections

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 225-283

  9. Conclusion

    • Gary L. Comstock
    Pages 285-288

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 289-297
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

Agricultural biotechnology refers to a diverse set of industrial techniques used to produce genetically modified foods. Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods manipulated at the molecular level to enhance their value to farmers and consumers. This book is a collection of essays on the ethical dimensions of ag biotech. The essays were written over a dozen years, beginning in 1988. When I began to reflect on the subject, ag biotech was an exotic, untested, technology. Today, in the first year of the millenium, the vast majority of consumers in the United States have taken a bite of the apple. Milk produced by cows injected with a GM protein called recombinant bovine growth hormone (bGH), is found, unlabelled, on grocery shelves throughout the US. In 1999, half of the soybeans and cotton harvested in the US were GM varieties. Billions of dollars of public and private monies are being invested annually in biotech research, and commercial sales now reach into the tens of billions of dollars each year. I Whereas ag biotech once promised to change American agriculture, it now is in the process of doing so.

Reviews

`Vexing Nature? is an intriguing intellectual adventure in the ethical assessment of technology. Whereas Comstock was once almost a 'global opponent' of GM foods, he has since changed his mind, and is now a cautious champion. The book contains several surprising twists, and much rich philosophical analysis. It will clearly help to advance the international discussion of this subject. Should be required reading for anyone interested in the GM controversy.'
Donald N. Duvick, Senior Vice-president Research, Pioneer Hi-Bred (retired), author of How much caution in the fields? (Science)
`This work is almost unprecedented in applied philosophy: a book that presents pro and con arguments by a man who has honestly and deeply felt the pull of the arguments on both sides. Comstock's struggle with the issues will enlighten them for all of us.'
Paul B. Thompson, Joyce and Edward E. Brewer Professor of Applied Ethics, Purdue University, author of Food Biotechnology in Ethical Perspective
`Gary Comstock has woven these timely essays into an important narrative that will be of interest to everyone who recognizes the ethical challenges posed by biotechnology. There is much to be learned from these pages. I hope the book enjoys the wide readership it deserves.'
Tom Regan, North Carolina State University, author of The Case for Animal Rights (1983) and Defending Animal Rights (2001)
`His discussion of bioethics raises issues of general interest to philosophers. This will make an excellent text for environment ethics and, more generally, for courses in science, technology, and values.'
Choice, 39:02 (2001)
`It is therefore a worthwhile read for ethicists interested in agricultural biotechnology who are not already familiar with the work being done by agricultural ethicists on the issue, as well as for those working on the ethics of agricultural biotechnolopgy who are not already familiar with the subtleties of Comstock's revised position.'
Environmental Values, 12:3 (2003)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Iowa State University, USA

    Gary L. Comstock

About the author

Gary L. Comstock is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Coordinator of the Bioethics Program, at Iowa State University (ISU), USA. Comstock is best known as the director of the ISU Bioethics Institute, a faculty development workshop that has helped hundreds of life scientists from around the world to integrate discussions of ethics into their courses. He has published dozens of articles; edited the volume, Is There A Moral Obligation to Save the Family Farm? (ISU Press, 1987), compiled Religious Autobiographies (Wadsworth, 1995), and is editing a collection of essays titled Life Science Ethics. A popular speaker who has lectured across Europe, Canada, Central America, and East Asia, he won his College's Award for Excellence in Outreach in 1998.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Vexing Nature?

  • Book Subtitle: On the Ethical Case Against Agricultural Biotechnology

  • Authors: Gary L. Comstock

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1397-1

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media New York 2000

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-7923-7987-4Published: 31 October 2000

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4613-5533-5Published: 24 October 2012

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4615-1397-1Published: 06 December 2012

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 297

  • Topics: Agriculture, Biotechnology, Ethics, Zoology, Plant Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation