The Dutch Approach to Safety Governance of GM Agriculture - Governing Risk in GM Agriculture - page 98

to be GM-free zones. 30 Austrian scientists have reported adverse effects
on butterflies of pest-resistant BT maize pollen, but a six-year field eval-
uation of BT maize in Spain did not identify adverse effects on nontarget
species. 31 Thus, many types of objections confront corporate proponents
and EU and national regulators of GMOs.
Risk assessments for GM plant breeding cannot completely rule out
potential risks and uncertainties. The nonexpert European public knows
this and therefore doubts the validity of short-term tests and lab stud-
ies as accurate indicators of long-term consequences. It also considers
food risks and GM technology within a broader social context than the
experts, wants to know the benefits of this food technology, 32 and worries
about the social and cultural implications of scientific advances. When
regulators fail to address the full spectrum of the public's concerns, oppo-
nents exploit this void. However, policy makers and scientists still focus
on scientific facts about GMO safety and consider public anxieties as
irrational. As a result, the public remains skeptical of the government's
ability to manage food safety 33 and continues to feel that European insti-
tutions fail to fully address their concerns, 34 and NGOs and the media
continue to stimulate anxiety about GMOs.
The scientific reasoning emphasized by regulators reflects a different
value system and it is difficult for the public to understand when experts
characterize findings as “negligible,” “biologically relevant,” or “within
natural variability,” for example. It would be more helpful if the results
30 GMO Free Europe Home Page, www.gmofree-europe.org.
31 M. Eizaguirre et al., Six Years After the Commercial Introduction of Bt Maize in
Spain: Field Evaluation, Impact, and Future Prospects, 15 Transgenic Research 1-12
(2006).
32 E. F. Einsiedel & J. Medlock, A Public Consultation on Plant Molecular Farming, 8
AgBioForum 26-32 (2005).
33 R. Marchant, From the Test Tube to the Table. 2 EMBO Reports 354-357 (2001). See
also C. Marris, Public Views on GMOs: Deconstructing the Myths, 2 EMBO Reports
545-548 (2001).
34 L. J. Frewer et al., Societal Aspects of Genetically Modified Foods, 42 Food and Chem-
ical Toxicology 1191-1193 (2004).