Wrongful Exploitation and Terminator Technology
Abstract
In an effort to restrict seed piracy, Monsanto intends to implement some variation of
genetic use restriction technology (GURT). Regarding such intentions, many activist
groups throughout the world (mainly in the US, Canada, and the UK) adamantly contend
that Monsanto and possibly other multinational agrochemical corporations (MACs) will be
acting immorally if GURTs, such as Terminator Technology (TT), are implemented in the
global agricultural industry. These activists argue that the potential implementation of TT
is immoral because it will grant Monsanto the power to wrongfully exploit resource-poor
farmers (RPFs) by reducing RPFs to mere means of production.
I contend that Monsanto will not necessarily be wrongfully exploiting RPFs through
the implementation of TT. More specifically, as long as Monsanto allows these RPFs to
make an autonomous choice to use terminator seeds and sponsors public plant breeding
initiatives (PPBIs), then Monsanto cannot be accurately considered to be wrongfully
exploiting these farmers.
There are three main parts to this essay. In the first part, I explain what exploitation is
and the conditions that must obtain for it to be immoral from a Kantian perspective. In the
second part, I briefly describe a few of the major objections that some activist groups have
made regarding the potential implementation of TT. In the third part of this essay, I apply
the conception of wrongful exploitation developed below to the current debate concerning
the potential implementation of TT in the global agricultural industry.