Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
recombinant DNA, whereas today we are witnessing major controversies
about the cultivation and use of GM crop plants. The application of GM
technology to plant breeding has forced the Dutch government into a
“learning by doing” policy cycle. This started in December 1974 when the
Dutch Association for Biochemistry distinguished between two types of
risks: the possible dangers of recombined organisms for humans and the
environment, and the social risks posed by exceeding species boundaries.
The Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences then drafted guidelines intended
to confine the risks to man and the environment to an acceptable level.
After DNA research was well under way, a DNA Committee for assess-
ing societal implications and ethical aspects was established in 1981 and
published an important report in 1983.
This was followed by Dutch implementation of EU Directives
90/219
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on contained use of GMOs and 2001/18
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on deliberate release of
GMOs into the environment. In 1990, the government added the Decree
on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO Decree) to the Dangerous
Substances Act,
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integrating the EU Directives into the Dutch legal
framework. Enacted in 1990, this decree provided the legal basis for reg-
ulating the use of GMOs under Dutch law, and created a permit process
in which the National Committee on Genetic Modification (COGEM)
assesses the health and environmental risks of GMOs, reports its find-
ings to the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment
(VROM), and brings ethical and societal considerations to the attention
of other Dutch officials.
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Subsequently, Genetically Modified Organ-
isms Regulations (GMO Regulations) were enacted to provide detailed
rules primarily for ensuring the contained use of GMOs. Finally, the
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Council Directive 90/219, 1990 O.J. (L106) 1-39 (EC).
7
Council Directive 2001/18, 2001 O.J. (L106) 1-39 (EC).
8
Environmentally Hazardous Substances Act: Decree on Genetically Modified Organ-
isms (GMO Decree 1990), 1993, (Staatsblad 435(NL); Genetically Modified Organ-
isms Regulations (GMO Regulations), 1993, Staatscourant 107 (NL).
9
Netherlands Commission on Genetic Modification (COGEM), 2007, Governance van
biotechnologie: de veranderende rol van wetenschappelijke adviescolleges, Deining
Maatschappelijke Communicatie, Report No. CGM 2006-01, 1- 48 (NL).
