Genetic technologies: questions about risk and democracy

The use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture and food production is the object of an intense and divisive debate. Drawing on a study on the public perception of agricultural gene technologies carried out in five European countries, the article deals with the policy aspects of the issue, and in particular with the relation between institutions, experts and the public. The research results call into question some stereotypes, e.g. about lay people’s inability to understand and deal with complex problems, their demand for “zero risk” in technological applications, and their narrow focus on consumers’ interests, as opposed to citizens’ rights. Also, the research findings show that there is no a-priori opposition to genetic research and its applications to agriculture. However, there is a generalized lack of confidence in virtually all the actors involved in the gene technology business, be it research, implementation, regulation, control or other. Consequently, there is a demand for a revision of current risk assessment practices as well as the assumptions underlying RTD choices. It is felt that both should be the subject of democratic discussion in the public arena. Thus, problems of risk ultimately appear as problems of governance, rather than simply a matter of improving the public understanding of science by means of enhanced scientific communication.