ABOVE THE DEBATES ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED PRODUCTS:AN EXPERIENCE OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Abstract

Recombinant DNA technology, together with an unlimited horizon of possibilities of innovation, triggered a discussion, among stakeholders, that cannot be ignored or solved through a linear difusion of information. Multidisciplinary and multi-institutional actions are being successfully adopted in several countries to establish new communication strategies between specialists and stakeholders. These strategies allow the identification of possible constraints and benefits of a technology during its development and, consequently, understanding and negotiation of conflicts. In Brazil this approach is not being used yet. The Problem Formulation and Options Assessment (PFOA) methodology was proposed by the Genetically Modified Organisms - Environmental Risk Assessment (GMO-ERA) project, aligned with the new trend of involving stakeholders in the risk assessment of a new technology. PFOA integrates the environmental, social, economic and ethical perspectives into the risk assessment of a technology. PFOA's pilot experience was conducted by a group formed by the GMO-ERA team associated with the Biosafety Network (BioSeg) project of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), by the Institute of Research in Risk and Sustainability from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Iris-UFSC) and by the Center for Strategic Management and Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation of the Ministry of Science and Technology (CGEE/MCT). The case study was a genetically modified bean resistant to the golden mosaic disease, which is being developed by Embrapa. This pilot was funded by CGEE/MCT and gathered representatives of several stakeholders. It could be concluded that the use of non-directed, transparent, open and science-based communication approaches is of great value for scientific and political decision making instances.