What are the ethics surrounding the genetic manipulation of animals and crops?

In the modern scientific era we have come to a turning point where we understand the genetic makeup of a variety of organisms well enough that we can actually manipulate the genes of these animals without the need for selective breeding. Companies such as Monsanto have fronted this drive for the use of genetic modification on our food supply for such benefits as frost resistance, pesticide resistance, or even toxicity to pest animals. All this sounds great on the surface, but when you look deeper you will realize the costs for this practice far outweigh the benefits for society.
The first and perhaps most blatant ethical dilemma is that Monsanto and other gene modifying companies are patenting their efforts as “intellectual property” and this also includes all organisms that are cross bred with the original modified plants and animals. They use this leverage to put farmers into debt around the world, and they treat the keeping of seed as the theft of their intellectual property. This often results in lengthy legal battles in which the farmers are dragged through the courts for years on end, up against the brick wall of these mega-corporation’s resources. In India farmers are actually committing suicide to remove the financial constraint on their families. If these companies were indeed doing such research for the benefit of mankind, an ethically astute position, surely they wouldn’t be subjecting farmers to such horrendous treatment.
The modification of these genes involves the use of animals (human and non-human) as laboratory guinea pigs. The genes for the manipulation of both animal and plants are derived from other organisms, mostly animals. They will take the DNA from animals with desirable traits in a lab which have been imported from all across the world. They then shoot the genes using a particle gun into a single cell of the host organism, in a petri dish. The new genes then spread to the other cells in the organism like cancer. The result, you get bananas crossed with rat DNA, tomatoes crossed with seal DNA, and anything else you can imagine. They have even dreamt up a way to make plants grow with pesticide already inside the plant, so you don’t have to spray them, any insect or small animal that eats it will have its stomach explode.
I think it goes without saying that this is an extremely unethical business, and it deserves proper criticism. Yet even people who seem to have a vested interest in this issue don’t bat an eyelash when Obama appoints Monsanto’s ex- VP to be senior advisor to the FDA.

When Does Vegetarianism Become Morally Obligatory?

Vegetarianism would be morally obligatory to the majority of Americans when there is widespread knowledge of the agribusiness agenda and a fair amount of access to organic fruits and vegetables across the country. Currently there is a enormous blackout on the true conditions in these factory farms, which makes the vast majority totally ignorant to what they are contributing to. It would be difficult to say that the majority are moral agents when it comes to meat consumption because they know almost nothing about the true nature of the business. All people see, is a neatly vacuum packed package at the supermarket, which is (deliberately) far removed from the image of a living breathing animal. One could argue that we are even indoctrinated from a young age to buy into this system. Children’s books are filled with cartoonish depictions of Old Macdonald’s farm and his happy animals. Pickup truck commercials show us the hardworking American farmer, the supposed backbone of our food industry and an inspiration to us all. In reality, the American farmer is no longer really relevant to the food industry other than in local settings.

Since the Agent Orange revolution, large corporations have controlled our food supply, and they even control most small farmers through legal roughhousing (using patented seed as intellectual property). As it stands now, the status-quo is designed to make meat and GMO crops the only available sustenance for the majority of people. So-called “Food deserts” are popping up in low income areas, where meat (as a federally subsidized industry) is usually the only option; aside from a slew of corn concoctions. In such areas, for example downtown North Adams, you would be hard pressed to find a store with a vegetarian section. Furthermore, the produce section is bound to be rife with genetically mutated plants which will continue to support the status quo, and poison you since the pesticides are within the plant itself.

So although it is morally maligned to consume the flesh of non-human animals, as long as there is widespread ignorance on the issue due to massive deception and indoctrination, and our food supply is controlled by only a small group of corporations who poison us with their pesticide food, the majority of Americans can’t be responsible for their actions because they lack the knowledge or in many cases the means to make an informed rational decision on the issue, even if it’s in their best interest.