The Safety First Initiative comes in response to well-publicized battles over the safety of GMO food. European unease has slowed American exports of GMO crops, which are now the focus of a battle in the World Trade Organization. In the United States, consumer and public interest organizations that doubt the safety of GMO products are facing off against businesses that are intent on recouping huge investments in GMOs and fending off liability claims and losses from product failures.
"We need a new approach to governing biotechnology that breaks free of the polarized debate and regulatory stalemate," said Kapuscinski (Cap-oo-SHIN-ski), a professor of fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology and first author of the commentary. "This initiative is building a rare and extraordinary convergence among previously acrimonious parties in the agricultural biotechnology debate."
The initiative's executive advisory board and steering committee are organizing working groups to draft standards in four categories--safety criteria setting, safety verification, follow-up and safety leadership--to apply throughout the industry. Kapuscinski and Jacobs emphasized that the process will be "open and transparent." Kapuscinski said the Safety First Initiative is modeled after efforts by such industries as steel, railroad and aircraft manufacturing to improve safety by drawing up standards with input from diverse groups and incorporating the standards into government regulations.
"This initiative represents a paradigm shift," said Jacobs, a professor of political science. "We're trying to change the way people think. Safety will be built into the initial genetic constructs, and there will be biosafety inspectors certified by a professional board and overseen by the government."
The working groups will set standards for environmental safety of the GMO organisms, as well as human safety, Kapuscinski and Jacobs said. The groups will draw on previous research to avert such adverse outcomes as allergic reactions in human consumers and the extinction of native fish populations by GMO fish.
The Nature Biotechnology commentary, "Making 'safety first' a reality for biotechnology products," resulted from the collaboration of, among others, Charles S. Johnson, former executive vice president of DuPont; John Woodhouse, former CEO of SYSCO Corp.; Margaret Mellon, program director, Union of Concerned Scientists; Jean Halloran, director, Consumer Policy Institute, Consumers Union; former U.S. Rep. Tim Penny; and Vernon Ruttan, Regents Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota.
For a copy of the commentary, call Mark Zipkin at 212-726-9335.
Contacts:
Anne Kapuscinski, 612-624-7719
Lawrence Jacobs, 612-625-3384
Deane Morrison, University News Service, 612-624-2346
Nature Biotechnology