Spitzweg, Kakteenfreund

LivingOrganism

Indispensable sciencefields for the study of

living organismsEcology

BiophysicsBiochemistry

MolecularBiology

Physiology

Morphology,Taxonomy

del. Klaus Ammann

Bio-era-teleconference April 22, 2003 Prometheus Unbound: Revolutionary Advances in Biological Technologies

Proposal of the Italians to the European Union on how to label Transgenic Papaya

Field Trial on Hawaii

traditional

transgenic

Hysteria about Transgenes, an Esotheric View

Biotech MultisThe GreenDevil:

A widespreadView in Europe

Breeding of hybrid corn

Breeding of hybrid corn

Gamma Field for radiation

breeding

100m radius

89 TBqCo-60

source at the centerShielding dike 8m

high BetterBetter

spaghettisspaghettis,, whiskywhisky

18001800 new plants

Institute of Radiation Breeding Ibaraki-ken, JAPAN http://www.irb.affrc.go.jp/ new plants

Perceived through science

Perceived directly

Virtual risk

Perceived through science

Perceived directly

Virtual risk

Perceived through science

Perceived directly

Virtual risk

everyone takes risks;everyone is a risk manager;

Science can reduce uncertainty by illuminating the connection between behaviour and consequence,science cannot provide “objective” measures of risk;

Where scientists don’t know or cannot agreevirtual risks are cultural constructs;they may or may not be real –Science cannot settle the issue –they have real consequences;

Three types of risk. John AdamsTRANSGENIC PLANTS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF VIRTUAL RISKS

Perceivedthroughscience

Perceiveddirectly

Virtualrisk

(hypothesis)

In Europe, the debate overGMOs focuses on

“potential negative effects which could happen tomorrow”,

and the real benefits of today are being forgotten...

The The SwissSwiss ReferendumReferendum ononGeneGene TechnologyTechnology

•• General ban for transgenic animalsGeneral ban for transgenic animals•• General ban for the release of General ban for the release of GMO’sGMO’s•• no patenting of no patenting of GMO’s GMO’s including products including products

and processes thereofand processes thereof

June 7th, 1998June 7th, 199866.7 % NO66.7 % NO / / 33.3 % YES33.3 % YES

41.05 % of 41.05 % of populationpopulation votedvoted

European optimism about biotechnology: 1991-2002, George Gaskell

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0.9

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1991 1993 1996 1999 2002Year

Inde

x

TelecommunicationsComputers and ITSpace explorationBiotechnology

What is modernity ?Negative: reduction of life to its lowest common denominator, loss of value and meaning, fragmentation of life and the worldloss of feeling of "we“disenchantment with the world.

Postitive: liberal democracies, rise of feminism, emancipation of children, rapid advances in medical science, biotechnology, computer sciences etc.

What is post-modernity ?Negative: a rejection of modernityclaims: only interpretation is importantobjective component of the truth fully questioned, hostility towards science and technology

Positive: new importance to the role of interpretation. in human understanding, the new rise of the “we”-language, feeling of global solidarity

Towards a reconciliation of oldfashioned polarities

pure ecology agricultural applied ecology

reductionisticholistic

molecularorganismic

experimental observational

field biologylab biology

causalteleonomic

Natural and artificial gene flow

Fact is that teosinte, land races and modern maize traits are for a longtime in breeding relation and still maintain their identity Kato: Results Gene Flow

Losey in Nature 1999:Monarch butterfly larvae with 40%mortality within four daysIn forced feeding experiments with pollen from Bt Maize

Published online before print September 14, 2001Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.211297698Corn pollen deposition on milkweeds in and near cornfieldsJohn M. Pleasants*†, Richard L. Hellmich‡, Galen P. Dively§, Mark K. Sears¶, Diane E. Stanley-Horn¶, Heather R. Mattila¶, John E. Fosteri, Thomas L.Clarki, and Gretchen D. Jones**

Cytoplasmic Male Sterile Pollen

Male fertile plant of the maize hybrid Delprim on the left hand side, on the right hand side the male sterile version of the same cultivar. As can be seen from the vestigial inflorescence, the male sterile plant does not release pollen. Photograph by M. Long. Male sterile Delprim Maize

Marketing Issues

THE REAL PROBLEM IS NOT SAFETY

• European and US farming subsidies

• No GM crop imports in Europe

• No meat imports if fed with GM food

• Intellectual property rights if

mishandled

unfortunately, planning problems in the field of green

biotechnology have now evolved into wicked problemswith complex structures and

no obvious causal chains

Solving wicked problems needs new, second

generation approaches in decision making

Elements of second generation planning:

Symmetry of ignorancedifferent kinds of knowledge:

factual knowledgedeontic knowledge

explanatory knowledge instrumental knowledgeconceptual knowledgeknowledge of daily life

Complexity 1Industry people live in corporate atmosphere of euphemism and

perfection, believe in deontic(planning)-knowledge difficulties

to understand critizism from outside

Beneficial arthropods: average /30 plants (August 1995)Monsanto Company confidential

location 1 location 2

16

6

18.5

14.8

3.2

11.8

02468

101214161820

BeneficialInsects

Population

location 1 location 2

Untreated Maize Maize treated with insecticide MaisGard

Beneficial insects belong to Anthocoridae, Nabidae, Coccinellidae, Staphylinidae, lacewings and spiders

Complexity 2

Scientists are often naïve andbelieve in factual knowledge alone, also try to manipulate non-scientists by selecting

appropriate facts.

Complexity 3

Some NGO’s have evolved into powerful protest

industries, not interested in science which could blur populist argumentation.

Destroyed field of experimental potatoes in Germany 16/17. June 2002

New Experts in the EUNew Experts in the EU

Complexity 4

People inbetween do not know whom to believe.

Have a difficult time to accept that biotech critizism and

acceptance is a demanding cultural process.

Conclusion 4Maybe we need some newly designed production lines which will fit to terms likeOrgano - Transgenic Cropsand Organic Precision Biotechnology

Amish and Monsanto

Modern Breeding Methods

A sampling of the possible pathways a nanomaterial might follow in the environment. Understanding how these pathways work for nanomaterials is key to predicting their environmental impact.

Image Credit: Vicki Colvin Director of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology, Rice University

In risk assessment, one has to admit ignorance

Explaining there are things we can’t know could improve public confidence in science.

NATURE|VOL 416|14 MARCH 2002|www.nature.com

Holger Hoffmann-Riem*, Brian Wynne†*Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Grabenstrasse 3, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland†

Institute for Environmental Philosophy and PublicPolicy, Furness College, Lancaster University,Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK

Famous case of ignorance

In the case of DDT, the increase in concentrations of this insecticide resulted in (among other things) fragile egg-shells, threatening the survival of rare species of birds. Here we are dealing with interactions between a known process (increase in DDT concentration) and an unknown, thus neglected, state-variable (egg-shell thickness);

But: We should also be (a)ware of the ignorance of those, who claim ignorance in Science,

WHO claims that the application of

DDT to Malaria control safed some

500 Million human lifes...

Critique of the Precautionary Principle: Henry Miller and Gregory Conco:

Washington Legal Foundation, Washington DC, May 26, 2000:

• First, it always assumes worst-case scenarios.

• Second, it distracts consumers and policy makers alike from the known and proven threats to human health.

• And third, it assumes no health detriment from the proposed regulations and restrictions. By that we mean that the precautionary principle overlooks thepossibility that real public health risks can be associated with expending resources on eliminating minuscule, hypothetical risks.

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSIONon the precautionary principlelast modified 22. March 2000

The precautionary principle should be considered within a structured approach to the analysis of risk which comprises three elements: risk assessment, risk management, risk communication. The precautionary principle is particularly relevant to the management of risk.

Commentary in Science: (Taubes, 1995, US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

Investigators who find an effect get support, and investigators who don’t find an effect don’t get support.

When times are tough it becomes extremely difficult for investigators to be objective.

Risk = Hazard + Chance

(Risk = Hazard x Likelyhood)

Red gold. Stained-glass window in Milan Cathedral, Italy, made by Niccolo da Varallobetween 1480 and 1486, showing the birth of St. Eligius, patron saint of goldsmiths. The red colors are due to colloidal gold. CREDIT: FOTOTECA VEN. FABBRICA DEL DUOMO

PRINCE Charles has warned that life on Earth could be wiped out by scientists playing God with potentially lethal new technologies.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper has learned that the Prince has summonedexperts to a crisis summit over fears that the planet could be engulfed in a so-called grey goocatastrophe caused by experiments going wrong.

The Prince has asked the Royal Society, Britain's most prestigious scientific institution, tohelp him organise an emergency summit in his Highgrove home to discuss the frightening consequences of this unproven technology.

Australian Daily Telegraph 28apr03

Dr. Douglas Parr is chief scientist at Greenpeace UK.

Sept. 26, 2003 Future Technologies, Greenpeace ReportFurther, campaigning to stop things – as Greenpeace frequently does – is fundamentally unsatisfying. We would like to see answers to problems – technology has the ability to deliver some of these answers. We would like to see the central priorities of nanotechbeing that of delivering social and environmental benefits, whilst being mindful of the real-world realities.

STOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPs)

22. May 2001 Article 1 Objective

Mindful of the precautionary approachas set forth in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the objective of this Convention is to protect human health and theenvironment from persistent organic pollutants.

bye bye Heliotisbye bye pesticides

Percentage GM cottonin the USA

Bt-toxin may be hazardous to your health, don‘t swallow and keep away from children

The International Knowledge Baseand Expert DatabaseIncluding Berne DebatesNetworking with UNIDO, EFB, IUCN

www.bio-scope.org