MORALITY VERSUS CULTURE?

摘要

In December 1990, the first Dutch transgenic calf was born, a bull called Herman. The birth of this calf was one of the many steps in a project of the firm Gene Pharming in Leiden. The bull Herman contained a gene that causes the excretion of human lactoferrin in the milk of his female progeny. Lactoferrin is supposed to prevent and control infections in animals as well as humans. The birth of Herman caused an upheaval of the public debate in the Netherlands on animal transgenesis. This debate started in March 1989, when Gene Pharming announced the creation of transgenic cattle, and closed in mid-1997, when a decree on animal biotechnology was implemented in the Dutch Animal Health and Welfare Act. In her book, Theune evaluates this Dutch public debate, and concludes that it was a successful one.