Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
feed chain and threshold limits, associated questions with respect to lia-
bility, and establishment of an authorization track that is appropriate for
commercial open field production. Risk assessors are expected to recon-
sider their assessment concepts and approaches and include confinement
measures as a particular focus of their risk assessment tasks (see Chapter
6 for analysis of some confinement considerations).
At the time the research process on which this chapter is based was
being conducted, EU institutions and some stakeholders have become
active including EFSA,
49
the European biotech industry association
EuropaBio (Barber, personal communication), the European Plant Sci-
ence Organisation,
68
and the Institute for Prospective Technology Stud-
ies of the EU Joint Research Centres. So far, most of these activi-
ties are designed as expert, technical initiatives. Neither environmental/
consumer NGOs nor food industry representatives have participated in
these activities. Some of the issues associated with molecular farming
definitely will, however, require public debate that encompasses a broad
range of stakeholders. In that sense, the hearing at the German Par-
liament in 2006
69
where different stakeholder groups and members of
parliament could respond to and discuss the findings of a technology
assessment project on molecular farming
70
was a first move toward
broadening the policy debate. In June 2008, EFSA conducted a public
consultation on its draft opinion on how to adapt its risk assessment guid-
ance on GM plants to address GM crops that produce PMPs and PMIs.
71
Given the experience of the United States and Canada, a broad debate
can be expected to take up some key questions of acceptable risks that
68
www.epsoweb.org/Catalog/epsopercent20workshops/EPSOpercent20handoutpercent
20300106.pdf.
69
Deutscher Bundestag, “Zukunftspotenziale der Gr unen Gentechnik” - offentliches
Fachgespr ach des Ausschusses f ur Bildung, Forschung und Technikfolgenabsch at-
zung, Press Release available at www.bundestag.de/aktuell/presse/2006/pz 0606191
.html.
70
A. Sauter & B. Husing, Gr une Gentechnik - Transgene Pflanzen der 2. und 3. Gener-
ation (2006), available at www.tab.fzk.de/de/projekt/zusammenfassung/ab104.pdf.
71
EFSA 2008, supra.
