The dialogue between precaution and risk

COMMENTARYThe dialogue between precaution and riskLillian Auberson-HuangTo realize that you do not understand is a virtueNot to realize that you do not understand is a defect.The reason why the sage has no defectsIs because he treats defects as defects.Thus, he has no defects.Tao Te ChingThe precautionary approach or precautionary principle is based on the premise

that activities threatening harm to human

health or the environment require precautionary measures, even if some cause-andeffect relationships are not fully established

scientifically. This concept is gaining popularity in environmental policy and law as

applied to the commercial use of genetically

modified organisms (GMOs). Many opponents of the precautionary principle argue

that its definition and goals are vague and

its adoption by regulators potentially stifles

trade and limits innovation. However, I

argue here that the precautionary approach

also fills a void created by the growing disenchantment with the limitations of classical risk-assessment methodology for evaluating the wide range of potential impacts

from technology applications, especially in

agricultural biotechnology.Classic limitationsRisk assessment for the introduction of

GMOs into the environment is based on

four steps: first, hazard identification; second, evaluation of potential consequences;

third, estimation of damage potential, if

the hazard materializes; and fourth, implementation of risk-mitigation strategies.

Regulations for transgenic crops require

risk assessments to be performed with the

best available science and call for ethical

behavior in decision-making, based on the

prima facie principles of minimizing risk

and reducing the damage potential from

potential hazards.The classic approach of assessing hazards individually, based on likelihood of

occurrence and extent of damage, has

proven too limited to adequately describe

the full range of technological, societal, and

environmental impacts from the deliberate

release of GMOs. Experience also has

shown that the interpretation of the final

residual risk by various stakeholders can be

highly dependent on context and all too

easily politicized or misconstrued. Cases in

point are the assessments of the risks of

horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic

marker genes in transgenic plants, and the

risks of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins

expressed in transgenic corn pollen and

their potential effect, under field conditions, on the mortality of the monarch

caterpillar. The difficulties in interpreting

the meaning of residual risk arise, in part,

from the various value systems that are

applied in our definition,...