Interim Report for Engineering Ethics and Emerging Technologies

The demand for meat in America is on the rise while the number of family owned farms is declining. The farming industry has had to change century old practices like free-range grazing to keep up with the mass amounts of meat that Americans and other cultures have become accustomed to. A process known as factory farming is controlling the farming industry worldwide. Factory farming is an unnatural and inhuman way to raise mass amounts of livestock. Unfortunately to keep up with demand, small farmers around the world are struggling to survive and are being pressured to work for large corporations raising animals using theses factory farming strategies rather than the natural alternative. As described by Wenonah

The movie “Food Inc.” is a documentary created to shed light on the topic of industrialized farming of crops and animals. The video shows many scenes that display the poor methods of industrialized farming as well as the harsh conditions the animals have to endure while they are being farmed. This video however also takes a political standpoint on the topic and expresses many opinions on the matter. The movie is also filled with recent facts and statistics on the industry and compares them to how the food business used to be. “Food Inc.” also provides first-hand accounts of how farmers are affected and the types of techniques that giant corporations are imposing.

For the past two decades animal farming has developed into an industrial operation of raising animals for human consumption (Rise of Factory Farms, 2015 Edition). Factory farming confines livestock (cows, hogs, and chickens) in tightly packed facilities with the focus on maximizing economic return. Today there are four meat packers that monopolize the industry. These four companies, Tyson, Smitfield Foods, JBS, and Cargill, control about 85 percent of the American beef industry (How 4 companies control almost all the meat you eat, 2014). This dominance in the industry affects the pricing, production, laws, and quality of the meat that is consumed. Also, majority of small and medium farms are disappearing due to the dominance of these major corporations.

Over the years, farmers have been producing meats, and growing crops, to feed all over the world. Farmers have been using different methods to achieve the constant demand for food, such as breeding, environment, and feeding. Technology has been a major factor in helping farmers evolve over the years. What pop out were factory farms all over the world. But what is a factory farm? Factory farms are huge buildings owned by big corporations, where meats are being produced by the thousands. Despite the effectiveness of this method, it comes at a price. Factory farms are key factory in feeding many countries over the world, but it struggles with the mistreatment of animals, and excessive waste.

Technological developments are growing fast and individuals can not live without technology in the modern society. People all have their moral compass and ethical boundary which limit their behaviors. As technology is widely used, the connection between technology and ethics is getting inseparably associated. In the article “Ethics and the New Genetics” by Tenzin Gyatso, he mentions the genetic engineering field’s benefit and potential harms which lead people to consider the relationship between ethics and technology. He argues that technological development advances individuals’ lives and also pushes the envelope which leads people to shrink the ethical lines and is harmful to human societies. Thus, technology is the pivotal point of humans’ moral responsibilities.Although

The exponential rise in earth’s human population since the industrial revolution has put a heightened pressure on food production word wide. The global population reached approximately 7.2 billion in 2013 (United Nation News Centre, 2013) and consequentially the requirement for eggs and poultry has also substantially increased (Pluhar, 2010). As a result of this elevated demand for food, there has been a shift in the way agricultural practices operate to produce the large quantities of meat and eggs necessary to feed the population. The intensive farming method of animal husbandry has become quite a controversial issue and caused apprehension amongst many different factions of society. These concerns relate to how high density farming

Climate change is unarguably one of the most significant problems challenging our environment today. There is a sufficient amount of evidence expressing the concern that climate change is likely to negatively influence many aspects of life for people around the world. Human engineering, which is the biomedical modification of humans, can be used to help people ease and adapt to climate change; It is a possible solution to the ever growing environmental problem of global warming. However many people will concede that there are an abundance of possible ethical concerns regarding human engineering. The major implication is the concern regarding its safety for the children and society.

As the world population grows by thousands each day, meat consumption continues to rise in developing economies while cultivable land is running out and the global livestock production may be reaching its full capacity. Farmed meat has a high possibility of becoming costly and scarce if the demand for meat continues to rise.

The meat market is booming, yet it is harming poor countries, the environment, and the animals. It is currently benefitting rich countries, but that will change as the population continues to grow. There is not enough space to continue to house all animals that are raised for food, even if humane farming was to be put into practice. To achieve space, deforestation is occurring. On top of that, animal farming is greatly contributing to the concentration of methane in the atmosphere. Currently, water sources are being used up, which may soon result in a lack of water. The food produced through animal farming, though likely cheaper than meat produced through humane methods, is still too expensive for most. Poor countries cannot afford the food produced in countries that use animal farming. According to Nibert, the food is produced for rich countries and prohibited from the poor. There is also worry about GMOs and how long term consumption may impact one’s health; however, it is becoming less and less possible to eat food that has not been modified in some way. Most of the food being produced, is owned by only a small number of people, all of whom, attempt to achieve as great of a profit as possible. Ultimately, money is the main focus for most people in the food industry and they are willing to go to extreme lengths to increase their

A group of people, which are mainly result-oriented, believe that the development will have positive effects. As factory farming reaches a high level of productivity and quality with lower business costs and higher job opportunities. And it will cause a general fall in food price, due to the efficient production (greengarageblog.org, 06/01/2017). In this way, more families can afford to eat these meat products without regarding it as a

The progress in science & technology is a non-stop process. New things and new technology are being invented. As the technology grows day by day, we can imagine about the future in which thing we may occupy every

There are many ethical dilemmas that an industrial engineer may face throughout their career. One major dilemma would be having to lay someone off because of a change you may have made to a process to make it more efficient. Industrial engineers are always trying to find a more efficient way of doing something, whether it’s in a factory, in an office, or the route of a delivery driver. Sometimes these things aren’t always as simple as they may seem. There are often consequences to these seemingly simple changes. People can and do get laid off because of a change to a process.

© The Royal Academy of Engineering ISBN 1-903496-73-X August 2011 Published by The Royal Academy of Engineering 3 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5DG Tel: 020 7766 0600 www.raeng.org.uk Registered Charity Number: 293074 This is an abridged version of a full guide available online at: www.raeng.org.uk/ethicsinpractice

We first deal with the ethical implication of ASCE preparing the report card and the benefit, which benefits the engineers. The implication of the ASCE should be about moral neutral group of people to prepare to the report card. Civil engineers should have Presence and obligations to the public as they should in any other places .so a person who can be swayed by political corruption and bribery, shouldn 't be involved with any activates, Now if ASCE prepare to the report card, the ratings given could be changed to reflect the need of the economic situation. In case lower rating will be more jobs available to workforce .If rating are higher few jobs will be needed for infrastructure development.

One of the most challenging and debatable topics in science is energy. Three paradigmatic energy methods are coal, natural gas, and renewable energy, specifically wind and solar. There are technical, social, and financial questions regarding the effects of energy sources which lead to questions of morality in pursuing further development of these sources. The ethical implications of technology can be analyzed through both a utilitarian and Kantian viewpoint in order to illuminate how society should proceed, especially in relation to the energy crisis, which describes the increasing decline in fossil fuel availability.