Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Some experts go so far as to claim that the means devoted to
these activities are in fact counterproductive: they are diverting precious
resources that could actually be more fruitful to the organization, includ-
ing invested in safety devices. The efforts to appear transparent and open
to criticism is seen as pumping a lot of energy, at the expense of vigilant
but sober safety management (Perrow, 1999: 366-368; Nichols & Wil-
davsky, 1987). From a different angle, Heimann (2005) is also weighing
in on this issue. He suggests that the efforts a company puts into restoring
safety after a big accident lead to an almost “fatal” drift toward type II
risk - a waste of resources - which will “naturally” lead to safety short-
cuts to be able to deliver on time as expected. Heimann describes this
vicious circle as the biggest obstacle to sustained investments in safety.
Among industrial actors there is certainly a tendency to limit detailed
regulation, and reluctance to address growing public anxiety. In Baram's
description of the U.S. case, clearly a relaxed regulatory regime is more
popular than any other. Yet, as Vergragt and Szejnwald-Brown suggest
in their chapter, the growing practice of voluntary sustainability report-
ing by companies can serve to enhance a positive stance toward trans-
parency by including as many stakeholders as possible. The example
of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) could serve as a three-point
framework to support the development of safety initiatives. Under the
first part “Social Performance Indicators,” human factors training could
be offered to foster workplace safety and product safety. Under the sec-
tion “Economic Performance Indicators,” economic impact on non-GM
crops growers could be addressed. And a third section called “Environ-
mental Indicators” could be an adequate umbrella for worker safety and
quality practices, waste management, and prevention of environmental
risk. There are options worth investigating.
UncertaintyoftheHazards
It is probably not accurate to say, that like the nuclear industry or
the chemical industry, GM crops have the potential to kill, cripple, or
