Societal Concerns and the
Precautionary Principle
Doubt, Risk, and Science: Where Do
We Go from Here?
The Precautionary Principle
Workshop on Societal Concerns “Dealing with
Uncertainty, precaution vs. science – polar opposites
or a continuum”
“purpose is to provide a venue for discussion of issues
outside of the usual format”
Complex Topic, Difficult Policy Decisions
• Google:
• Precautionary Principle 602,000 hits
• Societal Concerns: 3,370,000 hits
• Sex: 49,000,000 hits
Societal Concerns: Definition
• Difficult….
“Crafting a universally applicable, comprehensive, and
analytically tractable nomenclature of (ever evolving) societal
concerns whose occurrence is at the farm level is a moving
target. It should be stressed that just as defining societal
concerns can be subject to subjective opinions, their
classification suffers from the same shortcoming.”
(OECD - The Trade and Trade Policy Implications of Different Policy Responses to Societal Concerns)
Societal Concerns: Definition
“… the risks or threats from hazards which impact on society
and which, if realised, could have adverse repercussions for
the institutions responsible for putting in place the provisions
and arrangements for protecting people, e.g. Parliament or
the Government of the day.”
OECD 2009 - from Ball and Boehmer-Christiansen (2002)
Precautionary Principle: Definition
• Rio Earth Summit 1992 Principle 15
Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full
scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing costeffective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE:
• The U.S. Position is well known…
United States submits – precaution is
not a principle of international law …
precaution cannot even be defined”
“the
July 29, 2004 – Executive Summary Submission of the Rebuttal Submission of the United States – WTO vs. European
Communities
But…
• chief veterinary officer for the USDA,
characterized the decision as "acting out of an
abundance of caution." *
USDA Press Conferences, December, 2003
*Provisional Measure
Merriam-Webster says:
• Precaution: a measure taken beforehand to
prevent harm or secure good
• Caution: prudent forethought to minimize risk
Precaution vs. Risk
“the precautionary principle, for all its
rhetorical appeal, is deeply incoherent … there
are always risks on both sides of a decision;
inaction can bring danger, but so can action.
Precautions, in other words, themselves
create risks – and hence the principle bans
what it simultaneously requires.”
Cass Sunstein (2008)
Policy on Biotechnology in the United States
-- Policy formulation: 1986 - Coordinated Framework for
Regulation of Biotechnology under the Executive Office of the
President
-- Environment Protection Agency, Food and Drug Agency,
Dept. of Agriculture, National Institute for Health, National
Science Foundation
-- Burden of Proof – Applicant Information reviewed by
regulatory authorities
What is the Role of U.S. Society?
-- Open and transparent process for public comment
(Federal Register)
-- Civil Litigation
Private citizens vs. Government (Alfalfa, Sugarbeets)
Private citizens vs. citizens, corporations
-- “Town Hall Meetings” by FDA
-- Legislative Process and private citizen input
U.S. Policy and Regulation of Biotechnology
-- Also Includes Concerns of Society
-- Consistent with International Trade (WTO)
-- A risk, science, societal continuum
Societal Concerns and the Precautionary
Principle
• Precautionary Principle: Not enough science for Risk
Assessment
• Societal Concerns: Risk Assessment and Cost/Benefit
Analysis based on science cannot capture concerns of
society anyway
• Where does that leave us?
Key Challenges: Meeting Future Food Needs,
Adjusting to Climate Change, and Preserving the
Environment
Where do we go from here?
• Governments: Responsibility for how risks are perceived by
society – (Risk Communication for A/H1N1)
• Behavioral Economics - - The framing of the problem affects
the outcome by the decision maker ( a member of society)
• Marketing, Advertising – Private Sector - consumers
preferences routinely identified and quantified
Where do we go from here?
• How do we identify, quantify, and analyze Societal Concerns,
as we do with other economic and trade issues?
• Can OECD CoAg provide guidance to governments on
Societal Concerns?
• Does OECD have the competitive advantage to consider and
develop analytical frameworks or policy guidance regarding
Societal Concerns?
Thank You
The
End
(or just another step?)
Additional Slides:
Concerning the need for new Agronomic
Technologies
Herbicide and insecticide use
Fertilizer use
0.3
2.7
0.25
2.5
0.2
2.3
0.15
2.1
0.1
1.9
1.7
0.05
1.5
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Insecticide
4.95
4.75
4.55
4.35
4.15
3.95
3.75
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Herbicide
Source: USDA/NASS, Agricultural Chemical Usage Report
Prepared by OGA/FAS/USDA
5.15
Fertilizer pounds per bushel
2.9
Insecticide pounds of active ingredient
per acre
per acre
Biotechnology helps reduce chemical input usage in U.S.
corn production
Source: USDA/ERS
Poll of 1,000 toxicologists:
Precautionary Principle:
Scope of Application?
-- Biotechnology, Climate Change
(2 cases, resulting in inaction and action)
What about:
second hand smoke, cellular telephones, airline safety, (airline
pilot pay vs. investment banker pay), nuclear power, radon,
environmental contaminants, etc.?
Why Biotechnology?
Herbicide Use
500
Million pounds active ingredient
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1960
1965
1970
Source: USDA NASS
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
Economic Benefits in Africa
 On a much wider scale, there are about 2.5 million
hectares planted to cotton in Africa, most on small
plots of less than 10 ha. …If there was widespread
use of Bt varieties across the continent, it could
generate additional incomes of about six billion rand,
or US$600 million, for some of the world’s poorest
farmers.”
(Colin T., L. Beyers, et.al., 2003. “Can GM-Technologies Help the Poor? The Impact of Bt Cotton in
Makhathini Flats, KwaZulu-Natal”, World Development 31 (4)
Societal Concerns and the
Precautionary Principle
--Responsibility of governments to manage perception of risks
(as in A/H1N1)
--Ethical questions – Are “the few(1)” coercing the many(2), or
“the few(2)” depriving the many(2)?
The few(1) = the biotechnology industry
The many(1) = consumers
The few(2) = biotech spurning consumers in wealthy countries
The many(1) = the 1 billion poverty stricken and malnourished