EU Regulation of GMOs. Law and Decision Making for a New Technology
本书探讨了欧盟转基因生物监管中风险控制之外的社会问题，如共存、责任和公众参与，适合关注农业生物技术政策与法律的研究者。
In this book,1 Maria Lee makes a convincing case that regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is about much more than controlling risk. While regulation must necessarily address risks to the environment and to human and animal health, the regulatory sphere also extends far more broadly than this to cover matters such as coexistence, liability, consumer choice, and ownership. Lee's book is a valuable addition to the literature for those wishing to broaden their understanding of the range of legal disciplines involved in GMO regulation. While her analysis is focused on the EU, the underlying principles are pertinent for policy-makers in any society facing the difficult questions raised by development of agricultural biotechnology. Lee begins by examining the EU's regulatory framework for authorisation of GMOs and finds it wanting. Her fundamental criticism relates to its overwhelming focus on questions of risk. While she finds that the authorisation framework provides a rigorous mechanism by which to assess, contest, and debate the safety of GMOs, she suggests that it does not allow thorough consideration of GMOs as a ‘social problem’, as something that is ‘raising profound questions about the type of world we are creating’. Interestingly, she observes in Europe an increasing acceptance that science does not have all the answers and that the public has something to contribute to decision-making. Yet, she finds that while it is relatively simple to understand the importance of social values and public participation, it is far more difficult to establish a concrete meaning for them and to usefully incorporate them within a regulatory framework. The term ‘public participation’, for example, is capable of many meanings and has many purposes, from improving democracy to improving substantive results. Perhaps, not surprisingly, she finds that under the EU regulatory scheme, the authority of science as a tool of decision-making in practice and in law remains very powerful.