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As I entered DuPont headquarters on November 1, 2015,
I had no idea the magnitude of the decision I would have to make that day, but, I should start from the beginning. As part of the so called “Big 6” GMO corporations, DuPont has expanded its range even further and has delved into the modified soybean market. They made this decision around
Christmas time of 2010. As part of a choice group of engineers selected around that time, it became my job to work with my colleagues to create a better soybean. Most
Americans don’t realize how significant soybean really is. A combination of soybean and maize can be found in about 70% of the food consumed by Americans today [1]. Knowing this fact, I was able to realize the significance of this project. If my team and I were to succeed in this project, we would receive healthy amounts of money and recognition. Best of all, DuPont would be able to create a monopoly on the soybean seed market.
Finally, almost five years later, my team and I created a better GMO soybean that we believed could accomplish everything that we’ve dreamt of and more. This fortunate turn of events had me on a high from success and I didn’t believe that there was anything that could ruin it. I was mostly relieved about the fact that our product had been approved for the market by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency), and even the USDA
(U.S. Department of Agriculture). I also followed both the
NSPE and AIChE codes of ethics to a tee when creating my portion of the GMO soybean’s DNA. Luckily on this day, I entered the lab early and decided to perform extra tests on our product as I had no idea how others in my group had conducted their alteration of the soybean’s DNA. As I performed in-depth scans of the altered sequences I was really marveled at my colleagues’ intellect and creativity.
I continued to browse each section in awe until I came across a suspicious code. Nevertheless, this code was created by our team leader Brian. My heart sank immediately as I have a deep understanding of amino acid chains and I recognized what was in his. He was in charge of the tolerance to pesticides and instead of finding a new, honorable approach, he copied the sequence used in GMO wheat that has introduced the severe wheat intolerance creating digestive issues for people all over the world. I then realized the implications of everything I just discovered and questions immediately began swarming in my head; however, two questions began emerging as questions that needed answered.
How did Brian get past all the federal agencies’ policies, and what was I going to do about it?
As an engineer I pride myself in my extensive knowledge of ethics and following whatever the codes call for. So that day, I set out on a mission to answer the prevalent questions
Edward Rusnica ( etr16@pitt.edu
) immediately. My fortune increased that day, as Brian left for lunch, he forgot to shut down his computer and I instantly began looking for clues. Violating his privacy is a whole other ethical dilemma in itself but I chose to after carefully weighing the positives and the negatives. A quick scan revealed that Brian had higher connections and the ability to pay off the inspectors. Immense amounts of disbelief and anger began boiling inside me as I only had one question left.
What am I going to do?
To begin my assessment of what I should do, I went back to my basic knowledge of GMOs. Firstly. GMO stands for
Genetically Modified Organism, which can be anything that’s alive, animal and plant alike. Creating a GMO entails selectively altering certain parts of an organism’s amino acid chain made up of Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), Adenine (A), and Thymine (T) [2]. Different combinations of these amino acids can create the DNA of every organism in the universe, and if altered on a much smaller scale, can change certain genes and traits in specific organisms. However, if altered incorrectly or with no regard for safety, these sequences can sometimes match up with known allergens and start creating a whole new allergy pertained to the altered organism [3].
Before the creation of GMOs, it is even believed that allergies didn’t exist, but, they aren’t all bad. Most GMOs are clean, those massive grapes and strawberries that anyone can pick up from the grocery store are GMOs and neither have any harmful allergies associated with them. Ultimately, the goal of my group at DuPont was to create this only beneficial strand of soybean DNA, and I thought we had it, until I discovered what Brian had truly done. So, after my recounting of basic information, I started considering what would happen if I kept the whole thing quiet.
What would happen if I just pretended to not notice
Brian’s shortcoming? I soon became frightened as the option may not be for the greater good, but it sure helped me. I suddenly realized that hushing the whole thing would result in gaining both large sums of money and prestige. Who doesn’t want either of those things? This would also help
Brian and everyone else in my group gain both of those things as well. DuPont itself would even benefit and create a monopoly over the soybean crop making it the wealthiest
GMO company in the world. As I continued to dive even further into this decision I even discovered it could benefit the technology as a whole. Other companies would realize this significant breakthrough in the technology and immediately
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
2015-11-03

Edward Rusnica get hungry to create something equivalent if not better elsewhere. But then it happened, I remembered the drawback of making this decision.
As an engineer, I am obligated to work towards the bettering of the world, and this decision only worsens every community [4]. If I were to decide to keep quiet, men, women, and children everywhere would begin to consume my newly created soybean almost every day. From this consumption, thousands of people could get sick and die, or even create a new allergy that generations to come will have to suffer with.
In horror, my mind quickly switched over to the repercussions of making the other decision.
Immediately, I felt more humane about choosing to tell about Brian paying off the federal agencies; however, the only personal gain I receive is the satisfaction of doing the right thing. Personally, I would receive no bonuses and possibly our project would be closed down, sending me back to my old job that pays less. The closing of this group would also affect my other righteous colleagues in the same way that it would affect me, no money or prestige. Also, reporting Brian would result in him immediately being terminated with the inability to ever find another engineering job elsewhere. Even the agencies would have to fire their corrupt agents resulting in the loss of even more jobs. Finally, DuPont would be subject to the extra close watch of these agencies and potentially even lose its prestige and authority when it comes to GMO seeds.
I can then dive into the science of genetically modifying food in general. As soon as the mistake went public, many people who already hate the science would get justification for their hate. They could claim the science is corrupt and that big companies only have interests in themselves. With GMOs on blast, many other companies interested in investing in the technology would quickly withdraw leaving GMOs stagnant and far behind the development that could have occurred without the disapproval of the public eye.
The saving grace of reporting Brian for his misdeeds is the moral victory that I would get to enjoy for the rest of my life.
Ethically, reporting Brian is the correct thing to do. Reporting him may bring on lots of negative media, but it saves thousands of lives, and even spares generations of children from suffering with a crippling allergy that would eliminate their ability to consume most produced foods. As a matter of fact, consulting my moral values is important, but consulting the engineering code of ethics will allow me to solidify the decision I will make about Brian and his ignorance.
At the first evaluation of myself, I realized that I had already made a mistake which had led to the situation. The
NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers clearly states that
“Engineers in private practice shall not review the work of another engineer for the same client, except with the knowledge of such engineer, or unless the connection of such engineer with the work has been terminated” [4]. Upon realizing that I snooped on the work of my entire group without their consent, I immediately changed my mindset.
Even if I were to report Brian for what he did, I would also be subject to ethical questioning, maybe leaving me jobless as well. So, the real question became: Am I going to look out for myself, or the greater good? To answer this question, I continued to consult my knowledge of ethics.
The biggest idea that I continued to come back to was to have my primary concerns for the health of the public when creating and distributing my creation. Both the AIChe and
NSPE codes of ethics outline holding the safety, health, and welfare of the public as a number one priority for engineers everywhere. Both of these codes of ethics also happen to outline another crucial idea, honesty. “Avoid deceptive acts” is a fundamental canon that truly states that I need to fess up to all the deceptive actions that have been occurring over the course of the GMO soybean project [4].
As I regretfully made my way to report the incident, I realized something that would yet again make me second guess the decision I would make. My epiphany included realizing the confidentiality stanzas and canons related to both of my limiting code of ethics. Even the AIChe code of ethics states that all engineers must “avoid conflicts of interest and never breach confidentiality” [5]. However, I quickly continued on my way as I realized these same codes stated that it was my job to report any knowledge of an alleged violation of the codes that govern the way DuPont operates
[4].
In the end, I chose what I believed what was right. I also consulted a wide variety of factors which is what engineers are required to do aside from the standard code of ethics [6].
This allowed me to conclude that favoring the greater good is the only way that I could continue sleeping soundly at night.
Even though choosing both prestige and money for myself and my peers would have been the easy choice, it was unethical. Every fiber of my being along with every ethical code and canon led to me reporting the situation as the GMO would affect the entire public’s future as well as leading to thousands of deaths. So, I reported Brian and the corrupt inspection agents and unfortunately, exactly what I expected followed.
Once the information went public, both Brian and the other corrupt agents were figured out and immediately fired from their jobs. These men would never be able to get another job in their respective fields again which was definitely disheartening for me when I found out. The company itself
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Edward Rusnica had to shut down our research division landing all of my coworkers and I back in our old jobs. The company was also subject to the watchful eye of the FDA, USDA, and many other government agencies. This new leak also significantly dropped my companies’ stock prices and put a halt on all new project and innovations in the company. GMOs as a whole were even put on blast. All corporations at the time trying to innovate were subject to new regulations and were also required to submit their work occasionally for analysis. As for me, I was also put under investigation. Even though my curiosity led to a life-saving discovery, my company was also curious if I had alternative motives for a competitor or if I had been trying to steal the designs. I obviously only had the best intentions but they didn’t know that.
From my experience, I learned many things. Most of these lessons came in the form of decision-making that has the potential to impact large amounts of people significantly. I was also able to experience times where ethical codes may be helpful, but at the same time may also not be the entire answer. As much as the codes themselves clash and suggest that either option is not entirely correct, the decision comes down to the morals of whoever is calling the shots. A person with shallow and selfish morals will most definitely pick what benefits him while those who want to help others will obviously pick whichever option will help them sleep at night.
In the end, I like my sleep, so I chose to help the majority while neglecting myself. Fortunately, I will feel like a hero for the rest of my life for doing something as miniscule as reporting a defective chain of amino acids which could create a potentially dangerous allergy. Overall, my advice for those with conflicting ethic codes, is to go with instincts, the instincts will know what the correct decision is.
[1] “Rising Allergies Triggered by GMO Ingredients in 80% of Groceries?” (2014). Truth Stream Media . (Video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8AwRG6xHL0
[2] J.M. Diaz. (2015). “Genetically Modified Organism
(GMO).” Encyclopedia Britannica . (Online Article). http://www.britannica.com/science/genetically-modifiedorganism
[3] H.A. Kuiper, G.A. Kleter, H.P. Noteborn, et al. (2001).
“Assessment of the food safety issues related to genetically modified foods.” The Plant Journal . (Online Article). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-
313X.2001.01119.x/full
[4] “NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers.” (2015). National
Society of Professional Engineers . (Online Article). http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics
[5] “Code of Ethics.” (2015). American Institute of Chemical
Engineers . (Online http://www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics
Article).
[6] L.A. Brockhoff. (2015, November 1) Interview
L.E. Wolf. (2013). “Forensic DNA Identification.” Online
Ethics Center . (Online Article). http://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases/27575.aspx
C.A. Beck, J.C. Branch, D.K O’Brien, et al. (2013). “Public
Health and Safety – Delay in Addressing Fire Code
Violations.” National Society of Professional Engineers .
(Online Article). http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/BER%20Case%20No
%2013-11-FINAL.pdf
E. Karagianis. (1999). “The Cost of Integrity.” Northeastern
University . (Online Article). http://www.webguru.neu.edu/professionalism/casestudies/cost-integrity
I wish to thank multiple sources for their support on this project. I would first like to thank the Bevier Librarians for their help on locating useful codes of ethics. I would also like to thank Beth Newborg for constant clarifications on the details of the assignment. Finally, I would like to thank Daniel
Rowe for his ideas and revision support.
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