"Frontmatter". In: Plant Genomics and Proteomics

P
UBLIC
P
OLICY
I
SSUES
It is clear that scientists need to be involved in the public debate 
over the merits of GM foods and crops, and many individuals and 
organizations have generated material that is useful in engaging the 
public in such a debate (http://ucbiotech.org/; http://www.biotech.
iastate.edu/Educational_resources.html; http://www.biotech.wisc.edu/;
http://www.nal.usda.gov/bic/Education_res/). However, lack of harm, by
itself, is insufficient justification for the introduction of such foods and crops.
The following factors should be addressed in any debate on the merits and
risks associated with these products (Baline et al., 2002):
1 9 6
10. B
I O E T H I C A L
C
O N C E R N S A N D T H E
F
U T U R E O F
P
L A N T
G
E N O M I C S
TABLE 10.2. I
NTERNATIONAL
R
EGULATORY
I
NSTITUTIONS
Institution
Members
Coverage
Food and Agriculture Organization
184
Food security programs
of the United Nations (FAO)
World Health Organization (WHO)
191
Health science and policy
International Plant Protection
107
Pests and pathogens (crops)
Convention (IPPC)
International Epizootics
155
Pests and pathogens 
Organization (OIE)
(animals)
Codex Alimentarius (Codex)
165
Food standards and labels
World Trade Organization (WTO)
139
Trade rules for all goods;
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Organization for Economic 
29
Harmonize standards and 
Cooperation and
policies
Development (OECD)
Regional Initiatives
Various
Harmonize science or
processes
Cartagena BioSafety Protocol (BSP)
Minimum 50
Transboundary movements
of living modified
organisms
From Pardey and Ko (2003).

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∑ Consumers do not reject GE outright but focus on specific applica-
tions of the technology. 
∑ Media coverage and activist opposition are associated with more neg-
ative perceptions. 
∑ Overall, support for the technology tends to be dependent on per-
ceptions of benefits. 
∑ Consumers view risk very differently from scientists. 
∑ The amount of media coverage, not the content, creates the negative
perceptions. 
∑ Consumer awareness of GM foods has increased, but understanding
remains low. 
∑ Consumer acceptance of biotechnology tends to be conditional and
dependent on perceptions of benefits and moral acceptability.
∑ The single most important determinant of gain or loss of trust in a
source is whether the information is subsequently proven right or
wrong and whether the source is subsequently demonstrated to be
unbiased. 
N
EW
A
VENUES FOR
GM P
RODUCTS
Many of the problems in the developing world relate to stress tolerances,
which are complex traits. These will be much more difficult to manipulate
with only the introduction of single transgenes. Therefore, the strategies for
altering these properties may need to be developed by using model systems
to identify the important components. With the improvements in transfor-
mation technology and understanding of precise gene regulation, it may
become possible to introduce a suite of genes to generate a new variety. If
these genes are from related species and could conceivably be introduced
through conventional breeding schemes (albeit slowly and inefficiently) will
the new varieties be considered as GMOs? If so, will the restrictions be less
or more than for those containing novel nucleic acid sequences? A proposed
categorization of transgenic organisms (Nielsen, 2003) may help in the
debate concerning the regulations covering various classes of transgenics. In
the same vein, the suggestion for defining genomics-guided transgenics
(Strauss, 2003) looks to differentiate between different types of transgenic
organisms and the risks associated with each.