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The breakdown of trust in decision making about GM crops in a knowledge deficit

The breakdown of trust in decision making about GM crops in a knowledge deficit
The breakdown of trust in decision making about GM crops in a knowledge deficit
In a society that is becoming increasingly sceptical of scientific innovation, any novel technological advance which has the potential to dramatically alter some aspect of society will face criticism. Biotechnology is no exception. Trust is crucial for its acceptance, as society lacks both broad scientific understanding and specific. biotechnological knowledge. In recent years, society’s trust in science and scientific regulation has been severely dented. Questions of scientific independence and credibility, the negative impacts of previous innovations, and the contrasting views of experts and society, have all played their part in the diminution of society’s trust of scientific innovation, and the capacity of those charged with regulating these innovations. When it comes to regaining trust, one-way dialogue ‘informing’ society of the regulatory steps taken to ensure safety has been shown not to work. We suggest a more inclusive approach, which incorporates societal concerns within the regulatory assessment in a transparent an explicit way, is needed to rebuild societal trust. While the regulatory process only includes the concerns of scientific experts, there will always be criticisms of its scope and the impartiality of experts and the validity of the underlying science.
0272-4332
Hudson, M.D.
1ae18506-6f2a-48af-8c72-83ab28679f55
Raybould, A.F.
3d367f25-44dd-4147-93eb-8c7b6c2503cf
Poppy, G.M.
1c579da6-3ec4-4688-8b0d-393a783c1f6b
Hudson, M.D.
1ae18506-6f2a-48af-8c72-83ab28679f55
Raybould, A.F.
3d367f25-44dd-4147-93eb-8c7b6c2503cf
Poppy, G.M.
1c579da6-3ec4-4688-8b0d-393a783c1f6b

Hudson, M.D., Raybould, A.F. and Poppy, G.M. (2008) The breakdown of trust in decision making about GM crops in a knowledge deficit. Risk Analysis. (Submitted)

Record type: Article

Abstract

In a society that is becoming increasingly sceptical of scientific innovation, any novel technological advance which has the potential to dramatically alter some aspect of society will face criticism. Biotechnology is no exception. Trust is crucial for its acceptance, as society lacks both broad scientific understanding and specific. biotechnological knowledge. In recent years, society’s trust in science and scientific regulation has been severely dented. Questions of scientific independence and credibility, the negative impacts of previous innovations, and the contrasting views of experts and society, have all played their part in the diminution of society’s trust of scientific innovation, and the capacity of those charged with regulating these innovations. When it comes to regaining trust, one-way dialogue ‘informing’ society of the regulatory steps taken to ensure safety has been shown not to work. We suggest a more inclusive approach, which incorporates societal concerns within the regulatory assessment in a transparent an explicit way, is needed to rebuild societal trust. While the regulatory process only includes the concerns of scientific experts, there will always be criticisms of its scope and the impartiality of experts and the validity of the underlying science.

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More information

Submitted date: August 2008

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 75772
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/75772
ISSN: 0272-4332
PURE UUID: 5669608b-d171-49d9-897f-17673b433e8d

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Date deposited: 11 Mar 2010
Last modified: 10 Dec 2021 16:58

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Contributors

Author: M.D. Hudson
Author: A.F. Raybould
Author: G.M. Poppy

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