Innovation and liability: "Oh no! what have we done?".
2003
Smyth, S.
This review article discusses the issues surrounding the biosafety of transgenic crops, their perception by consumers and the matter of socio-economic liability. The issue of liability management regarding transgenics would seem to be related to three key features of present day society. Firstly, consumer trust in government and industry has declined in all industrialized countries. Secondly, regulators in Canada and the United States have adamantly stuck to science-based risk assessment processes while, in Europe, regulators have tried to incorporate socioeconomic factors into the regulatory process. Thirdly, the whole concept of consumer empowerment has been badly dealt with by government, industry and, to a lesser degree, the judiciary. The stakeholders of government and industry have, for the most part, adopted the strategy of ignoring the consumer and hoping their concerns will go away. This hasn't worked and the willingness of the judiciary to hear large class action lawsuits against multinationals has forced reconsideration of this strategy. The key to socioeconomic liability management is to ensure that all stakeholders work together. Even though each stakeholder may have separate agendas, the goal needs to be consensus on the process objectives.
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