The responsibility of the citizen in a health-risk situation

Listeria, dioxin, BSE, the foot-and-mouth outbreak, and the controversy over genetically modified organisms, the increasing number of food-related public scares raises the question of the complementary roles of different agents in society (citizens, experts, associations, producers, retailers, public authorities) when confronted with a public health risk. When uncertainty prevails, the production of data (and more specifically the assessment of risks), the diffusion and use of information, the definition of what constitutes an ''acceptable risk'', and, in the end, decision-making, all these require the establishment of specific procedures, in order to reach a compromise between individual choices and the general interest. Using research based on authentic cases and an analysis of the main methods used (probabilistic methods, risk-profit analysis), we aim to show the limits of scientific knowledge and the way in which it is translated into information in the management and prevention of health risks. We will examine the question of the degree of responsibility that must be borne by each protagonist, and we will, finally, propose a number of approaches towards the construction of an ethic of responsibility, in order to establish a type of governance based on options that are truly satisfactory.