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Today, public
trust in engineering industries is dependent on credible internal industry
initiatives to test products and processes for safety from design through
production and to monitor them in operation. Our unique approach to addressing
biotechnology issues is inspired by the safety lessons from other industries
that engineer complex systems.
The goal
of this initiative is to produce technically sound policy changes that
will improve the safety governance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
First
workshop
To this end,
we hosted a workshop in March, 2001, at the University of Minnesota to
discuss how to undertake innovative safety management approaches for the
governance of genetically modified organisms. The diverse group of participants
at the workshop included policy advisors, leaders in government and industry,
leaders of public interest groups, and scholars. In that workshop, we
addressed three key issues:
- The essential
features of industry-wide GMO safety programs
- The roles
to be played by different sectors of society to ensure that safety programs
are scientifically reliable and socially robust
- Strategies
for equitable shaping and implementation of safety programs in a global
economy
Workshop
participants provided our Institute with useful guidelines for next steps
to achieve more durable safety programs for GMOs. These outcomes are outlined
in the Safety First: Active Governance of Genetically Engineered Organisms
for Human and Environment Health Workshop Final Report (Microsoft
Word Documnent, 3.0 or PDF file). The
final report includes a list of all workshop participants. We also received
considerable Participant Feedback on the workshop
itself. We have photos from the March workshop
(.GIF optimized, 2-5 min. download), as well as the original
online invitatation and registration.
Second
Workshop
Following
the first workshop, we secured a grant from the Pew Initiative on Food
and Agricultural Biotechnology to support the development of a Safety
First Initiative Executive Advisory Board and an expanded Safety First
Initiative Steering Committee (listed below). These two groups met again
in April, 2002 to discuss the next steps in the formation of safety programs
for the biotechnology industry.
A final report
for the April, 2002 meeting is now available as a PDF
file.
Safety
First Approach in Publications and Reports
Peer
Reviewed Publications authored or contributed to by our staff
Making 'safety
first' a reality for biotechnology products. 2003. Kapuscinski A.R., Goodman
R.M., Hann S.D., Jacobs L.R., Pullins E.E., Johnson C.S., Kinsey J.D.,
Krall R.L., La Vina A.G., Mellon M.G., Ruttan V.W. Nature Biotechnology.
21 (6): 599-601.
Pullins E.E.
2003. Expanding Biosafety Definitions for Application in Plant Sciences.
In Encyclopedia of Plant & Crop Science, R. M. Goodman, ed. New York,
NY: Dekker.
Kapuscinski
A.R. & E. E. Pullins. 2003. Biosafety Programs for Genetically Engineered
Plants: An Adaptive Approach. In Encyclopedia of Plant & Crop Science,
R. M. Goodman, ed. New York, NY: Dekker.
Miller L.M.,
Kapuscinski A.R. and W. Senanan. In Press. A biosafety approach to addressing
risks posed by aquaculture escapees. In Biosafety and Environmental Impact
of Genetic Enhancement and Introduction of Improved Strains of Tilapia
/ Exotics in Africa, ICLARM Conf. Proc. International Center for Living
Aquatic Resources Management, Penang, Malaysia.
A report
prepared for the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. 2003. Future
Fish: Issues in Science and Regulation of Transgenic Fish. 60pp. http://pewagbiotech.org/research/fish/
Kapuscinski,
A.R., Pullins, E.E., 2003. Report for Oxfam America: Agricultural Biotechnology
in Developing Countries.
Committee
on Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms. 2004. Biological
Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms. National Research Council.
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309090857/html/
Kapuscinski,
A.R. 2001. Controversies in designing useful ecological assessments of
genetically engineered organisms. Pages 385-415 in D. Letourneau and B.
Burrows, eds. Genetically Engineered Organisms: Assessing Environmental
and Human Health Effects. CRC Press.
Safety
First Approach Cited by Reports and Articles
- Auer,
C.A. Tracking genes from seed to supermarket: techniques and trends
TRENDS PLANT SCI 8 (12): 591-597 DEC 2003
- Batie,
S.S. The environmental impacts of genetically modified plants: Challenges
to decision making AM J AGR ECON 85 (5): 1107-1111 2003
- McCullum
C., Benbrook C., Knowles L., et al. Application of modern biotechnology
to food and agriculture: Food systems perspective J NUTR EDUC BEHAV
35 (6): 319-332 NOV-DEC 2003
Application
of Safety First Approach in Thailand
The Safety
First approach has been utilized in a USAID funded risk assessment and
safety management program for genetically engineered firsh awarded to
ISEES in 2002. For more information about the recent biosafety training
course and workshop, click here.
Our director
has presented on the Safety First Approach in several prominent national
and international events. These include:
- Convention
in Biological Diversity, Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety COP-MOP 1 (Convention/Meeting
of the Parties) meeting in Malaysia, 2004
- Society
for Conservation Biology Annual Meeting. Conservation biology at the
biotechnology-biodiversity interface: the case of aquatic genetically
modified organisms. (Presented by co-author E. Pullins). 2003.
- WorldFish
Center (formerly ICLARM) and International Network for Genetics in Aquaculture
(INGA) expert consultation on ecological and genetic risk assessment
of genetically improved fish. 2003.
- Norway/UN
Conference on Technology Transfer and Capacity Building. Presentation
and panel discussion on gene technology and biosafety in a development
perspective. 2003. American
Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. A safety first approach to governing
marine GMOs. 2002.
- Kapuscinski,
A.R. 2003. The national safety first initiative. In A. Eaglesham, C.
Carlson and R.W.F. Hardy, eds. NABC Report 14 on Foods for Health: Integrating
Agriculture, Medicine and Food for Future Health. Pages 91-99. National
Agricultural Biotechnology Council: Ithaca, NY.
- American
Museum of Natural History. Policy for sustaining seascapes needs to
address marine GMOs. Poster session at Sustaining Seascapes Symposium.
2002.
- Bordeaux
Aquaculture Conference in France. Presentation and panel discussion
on genetic effects of aquaculture. 2002.
- First
Meeting of Global Consultative Process on an International Assessment
of the Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Reducing Hunger,
Improving Livelihoods and Stimulating Economic Growth. Convened by the
Wrold Bank, Dublin, Ireland. 2002.
- Annual
Pew Marine Conservation Fellows Meeting. A new governance for marine
GMOs. 2001.
Press
Related to the Safety First Approach and Biosafety Advocacy
- Yomiuri
Shimbun (Japan's largest daily newspaper) - interviewed for article
on Safety First Initiative. 2002.
- Nature
- interview for article on status of transgenic fish research and development.
2003.
- Denkmal
Films - interviewed for European TV documentary, on Safety First Initiative
and my transgenic fish biosafety research. 2003.
- Minnesota
Public Radio - featured guest at hour-long, call-in show, "Mid-morning"
about Safety First Initiative. 2003.
- Minnesota
Public Radio - interviewed for story (in preparation) on biotechnology
in agriculture. 2003.
- 50 print
and on-line stories about Kapuscinski et al. (2003) article in Nature
Biotechnology. 2003.
- Over 50
print and on-line stories about Future Fish report (Kapuscinski major
contributor). 2003.
- The Mix
(newspaper for network of food coops) - interviewed for transgenic salmon
story. 2003.
- International
Press Corps - press conference at Norway/UN Conference on Technology
Transfer and Capacity Building. 2003.
- Boston
Globe - editorial writer interview about salmon farming and more sustainable
fish farming. 2003.
- Pioneer
Press - interviewed for special report about GMO issues in Europe and
USA. 2003
Safety
First Initiative
Executive
Advisory Board
John Block
Former Secretary of Agriculture under President Ronald Reagan
Charles S.
Johnson
Executive Vice President (retired)
DuPont
Co-chair
Executive Advisory Board
Margaret
G. Mellon
Program Director
Food and Environment Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
Tim Penny
Former U.S. Representative
Co-director
Hubert H. Humphrey Policy Center
University of Minnesota
Co-chair, Executive Advisory Board
Vin Weber
Former U.S. Representative
Co-director
Empower America
John Woodhouse
Chief Executive Officer (retired)
SYSCO Corporation
Safety First Initiative
Steering
Committee
Robert Curtis
President
Cape Aquaculture Technologies
Robert Goodman
Chair
McKnight Foundation's Collaborative Crop Research Program
Professor of Plant Pathology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jean Halloran
Director
Consumer Policy Institute
Consumers Union
John Howard
Chief Scientific Officer
ProdiGene
Calestous
Juma
Director
Science Technology & Innovation Program
Center for International Development
Harvard University
Former Executive Secretary
UN Convention on Biological Diversity
Jean Kinsey
Director
The Retail Food Industry Center
Department of Applied Economics
University of Minnesota
Anne Kirschenmann
Chief Executive Officer
Farm Verified Organic, Inc.
International Certification Services
Ronald Krall
Senior Vice President
US Drug Development
AstraZeneca LP
Terry Medley
Vice President
Biotechnology Regulatory and External Affairs
DuPont
Joe Muldoon
Director of Public Affairs
Syngenta North America
Philip Nelson
Vice President
Illinois Farm Bureau
Keith Pitts
Director of Public Policy
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
Vernon Ruttan
Regents Professor of Applied Economics
University of Minnesota
Carol Tucker Foreman
Director
Food Policy Institute
Consumer Federation of America
Mike Yost
Chairman
American Soybean Association
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