CONFERENCE ON "THE ROLE OF PRECAUTION IN GMO

UNCLAS VIENNA 001232

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/TPP/ABT AND EUR/AGS
STATE PASS TO USTR
USDA FOR FAS/FAA (DEVER) AND FAS/ITP/(SHEIKH AND HENKE)
USDA FOR FAS/OA/BIOTECH GROUP (B.SIMMONS)
USEU BRUSSELS FOR AGR MINISTER COUNSELOR
EU MEMBER STATES FOR AGR COUNSELORS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR TBIO ETRD AU
SUBJECT: CONFERENCE ON "THE ROLE OF PRECAUTION IN GMO
POLICY"


Summary
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1. On April 18-19, the Austrian EU Presidency hosted an
experts meeting on the precautionary principle in the
context of agricultural biotechnology. The meeting aimed to
reinforce the role of the precautionary principle in
agricultural biotechnology. The conference revealed
differences among participants from the Member States, the
Commission, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and
academics on application, but there was overwhelming support
to strengthen precautionary rules. The only U.S. participant
was Margaret Mellon from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
During opening remarks, Austrian Minister of Health Maria
Rauch-Kallat repeated the GoA view that the EU needs common
rules on biotech co-existence and liability. End summary.


Political and Regulatory Context
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2. German scientist and NGO activist Christine von
Weizaecker argued that application of the precautionary
principle was valid even when there is no scientific
evidence for a risk. She criticized "sound science" as a
political tool designed to delay safety obligations or bans
on potentially harmful technologies.


3. Kathryn Tierny from DG Environment voiced a clear
commitment to the precautionary principle, exhorting risk
assessors and risk managers to work more closely in deciding
what actions to take to protect human health and the
environment in light of current scientific knowledge.


4. Liina Eek from the Estonian Ministry of Environment
discussed the implementation of the precautionary principle
in a Central and East European (CEE) context. Until
countries establish functional biosafety frameworks, most
CEE countries would try to restrict GMO imports. She noted
that legislation in all the CEE countries contains the
precautionary principle, but each country defines it
differently.


Scientific Community
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5. Brian Wynne from Lancaster University's Centre for the
Study of Environmental Change led a discussion on risk
assessment and precaution. He detailed the difference
between risk assessment (assessment of a known risk with a
certain probability) and precaution (considering an unknown
risk). He opined that science could not avoid the
unpredictable, therefore justifying precaution.


6. Juergen Zentek from the Free University of Berlin
pointed out that existing research methods cannot always
detect the harmful risks of existing GMOs. Christopher
Pollok from the Institute of Grassland and Environmental
Research in Wales discussed farm-level evaluations of
herbicide tolerant crops carried out in the United Kingdom.
He concluded that authorities should regulate all novel
crops in the same manner as they regulate genetically
modified crops.


Conference Conclusions
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7. The conference generated three conclusions: 1)
conference participants overwhelmingly agreed that current
EU precautionary rules are not strict enough; 2) the
conference revealed significant differences amongst
scientists and regulators on the precise definition of the
precautionary principle; and 3) all experts agreed that
precaution is an important tool for GMO policy, but that
there are differences of opinion as to how to apply the
principle.


8. For any additional information on the conference, please
contact Embassy's Agricultural Specialist by e-mail:
roswitha.krautgartner@usda.gov.