Biotechnology and social learning: an empirical analysis of the Dutch Animal Biotechnology Act

Animal biotechnology raises moral dilemmas that require collective decisions concerning permitted use of technology. The technological and ethical complexity of biotechnology makes such collective decisions difficult and the lack of shared understanding of the moral implications demands social learning. The Minister for Agriculture in the Netherlands has created a legislative arrangement to enable collective learning about animal biotechnology. Has this legislation been successful? We conclude that initially the legislation succeeded in creating an arena for debate and collective learning, but soon learning in this arena was hindered by the legal nature of the arena. Our evaluation demonstrates that little substantive learning has taken place: standpoints have become fixed and antagonists continue to dispute one another in legal discourse. Though legal discourse may be suitable for dealing with conflicts, it seems to hinder social learning.