The Deadlock in European Decision-Making on GMOs as a Wicked Problem by Design
A Need for Repoliticization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11261326 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ruth Mampuys (0000-0002-6090-4015, The Netherlands Commission on Genetic Modification (COGEM), Bilthoven, Utrecht, the Netherlands, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1329-1359 |
| Publication date | 2023-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/01622439221097206 |
| OpenAlex | W4280544160 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 55 |
Altering the DNA of living organisms, also genetic modification, genetic engineering, or genetic manipulation, is playing an increasing and significant role in our lives, our food, and our environment. At the same time, the societal acceptance of this technology varies widely, and scientific uncertainties play a recurring role in the safety assessment of applications. In Europe, decision-making about genetically modified (GM) crops has become a laborious process in which scientific uncertainty and societal controversy are used as reasons to delay or halt GM crop authorizations as well as decisions about the legal status of new techniques such as gene editing. This article discusses the contributions and limitations of technocratic, participatory, and regulatory strategies that have been used to mitigate the situation. I will argue why scientific knowledge, input from participatory activities, and regulatory measures alone or all together are insufficient to resolve the deadlock in decision-making about biotechnology. I highlight the essential role of politics in this process because without political prioritization, gene editing in Europe will end up in the same deadlock
Authorization · Biology · Business · Citizen journalism · Computer security · Deadlock · Engineering ethics · Management science · Political science · Politics · Precautionary principle · Process (computing · Risk analysis (engineering · Technocracy · Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development · Computer Science · CRISPR and Genetic Engineering · Engineering · Genetically Modified Organisms Research · Law · Biotechnology
Seeds, Science, and Struggle
Coping with intractable controversies
Ogm
On the weakness of strong ties
Why should we promote public engagement with science
Governance strategies for responding to alarming studies on the safety of GM crops
Expertise, politics and public opinion at the crossroads of the European Commission’s decision-making
Consistent risk regulation? Differences in the European regulation of food crops
Wrestling with uncertain risks
Ethics of Dissent
Some Basis for a Renewed Regulation of Agri-Food Biotechnology in the EU
A Precautionary Approach to Genetically Modified Organisms
The Construction of Imaginaries of the Public as a Threat to Synthetic Biology
Coping, taming or solving
Wicked Problems,” Public Policy, and Administrative Theory
Drivers of natural resource-based political conflict
Public Deliberation and Governance
Legitimacy and/or policy effectiveness
Contested Accountability Claims and GMO Regulation in the European Union
The so-called ‘moratorium’ on the licensing of new genetically modified (GM) products by the European Union 1998–2004
Dilemmas in a general theory of planning
Misunderstood misunderstanding
New! Improved? The Transformation of the Global Agrifood System
The politics of global assessments
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |