Precaution in Crop Genetic Improvement Technologies

This dissertation attempts to give the reader as objective and impartial as possible assessment of the information about genetic engineering we have at our disposal. For this task, I use tools available within the framework of law on one side and the framework of risk analysis on the other. Next, I balance these frameworks against each other with the view of understanding their operation and the links between them. This dissertation operates with the view of identifying, understanding and explaining the complexity of legal issues in crop genetic improvement technologies. On the one hand, the complexity of legal issues in plant breeding seems to be simple at a glance. In a world where laws are based on science only, it would be enough to write that there is no rational reason to be anxious about the risk of GMOs because there is no scientific evidence proving that GM per se poses greater risks than conventional crops. But scientific evidence is not always the best explanation of complexity behind the issues of GMOs and risk perception. These issues are complex because the relevant evidence is mixed up with values that go beyond purely scientific and/or purely legal considerations. Apparently, precaution ranks high as an approach to mitigating risks associated with GMOs. It seems to be a good idea to find out to what extent precaution stays rational and to make an outline of our requirements to the standard of its application. The present research seeks to distinguish the patterns of precaution with would facilitate the feasibility of new plant breeding techniques for sustainable development. A study of these patterns will provide a possibility to advance solutions about the accommodation of often conflicting factors of scientific vs public opinions which impact on EU regulation of GMOs. The subject of this dissertation is the tripartite relation between GM, precaution, and risk, hence the content. After the general consideration of methodological questions in Chapter I, we move to the main components of the research – the crop genetic improvement technologies, including genetically modified organisms and new breeding techniques – in Chapter II. The axis about which precaution and risk rotate is conceived and elaborated in Chapter III. The concluding remarks and suggestions for improvement are outlined in Chapter VI.