The WHO/WTO Study on Trade and Public Health: A Critical Assessment

This article provides a brief critical examination of a 2002 report jointly issued by the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization on WTO law and public health. The author argues that the report is in many respects misleading as to the content of WTO law, as interpreted by the Appellate Body of the WTO, its final court. In particular, the WHO/WTO report systematically understates or underestimates the margins of regulatory autonomy that WTO member states have to make regulations that protect public health.     

Biosafety与Biosecurity:同一理论框架下的两个不同概念

生物安全是指防止由生物技术及微生物危险物质引起的生物危害,或者说是指防治生物技术及微生物生物污染。虽然biosafety与biosecurity都被称作生物安全,但biosafety强调的是防止非故意引起的生物技术及微生物生物危害,biosecurity则是指主动地采取措施防止故意的,如窃取及滥用生物技术及微生物危险物质引起的生物危害。一个将biosafety和biosecurity中割裂的各个部分以专题(生物技术安全、实验室生物安全、农林畜业及食品安全、危险病原体及生化毒素的管理、流行病及公共健康管理、生物武器管制与生物战的预防)的形式综合起来,使它们更有效率更有成效的、广泛的、可全球共享的生物安全理论框架已成为必需。     

转基因产品安全性所引发的贸易争端与 对策研究

生物技术的蓬勃发展及其在农业生产中的广泛应用,使得全球转基因产品的种植面积和贸易量迅速上升。然而,转基因产品在安全方面的不确定性导致了主要农产品进出口国之间展开了激烈的贸易争端。文章探讨了全球转基因产品的发展及其贸易格局的变化概况、转基因产品的安全问题所引发的贸易争端及其实质,分析了WTO及有关全球环境条例对转基因产品贸易的制约和争端解决机制,提出了WTO背景下中国在转基因产品的生产及贸易方面的应对措施。     

Loss of Agro-Biodiversity, Uncertainty, and Perceived Control: A Comparative Risk Perception Study in Austria and China

The biogeographical centers of origin of important food crops-called Vavilov centers-are considered to be crucial sources of genetic diversity for present and future crop-breeding programs and thus for human food safety worldwide. Global environmental change and more intensified modes of crop production may cause genetic erosion (loss of traditional crop varieties and loss of crop wild relatives), especially in Vavilov centers. The present study focused on how the risk of genetic erosion (or loss of agro-biodiversity) is perceived in comparison to 16 other risk topics by experts and lay people in Austria and China. The most striking result was that genetic erosion was perceived to be an exceptionally unknown and uncertain risk topic, given that only genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were perceived as being even more uncertain. As a consequence of the high uncertainty, the idea of applying the precautionary principle to further prevent genetic erosion is discussed. An unprecedented finding-one that differs from Austrian participants-is that the Chinese have a higher perceived control over all risk topics. The increased perception of controllability in China is discussed in light of the theory of reflexive modernization. This theory strives to explain the increased critical attitude in Western countries such as Austria toward scientific innovations and toward the idea that everything can be calculated and mastered at will. By revealing different notions of risk perception, this research also provides additional scientific input to risk communication efforts for public education.     

现代农业生物技术应用影响研究综述

现代农业生物技术是现代生物技术发展最活跃的领域,同时又是技术和经济层面上最具争议的领域。经济学界也非常关注现代农业生物技术的应用研究及相关问题,该文较为详细地介绍了现代农业生物技术的应用影响的研究现状,主要是转基因及其产品的风险影响、利益问题、知识产权和国际贸易问题等几个方面的研究综述,以期勾勒出关于现代农业生物技术影响的研究过程和成果。     

Transnational Discursive Opportunities and Social Movement Risk Frames Opposing GMOs

Research on social movement frames has been cumulative. Recently, scholars started studying the structural incentives and constraints for claim-makers by relying on the concept of discursive opportunity structure (DOS) while bringing the public sphere and the media to the centre of analysis of political contention. This article draws on these literatures to investigate social movement campaigns against genetically modified (GM) crops and pesticides in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. First, it argues that there is a transnational DOS that provides structural incentives and constraints to frame risks in symbolic struggles to define GM crops. Next, based on a content analysis of national newspapers, it describes the use of risk frames in national public discourses. Finally, it addresses the question of how this transnationalized DOS is framed by the media by looking at the discursive opportunities for social movements as well as other collective actors in their framing disputes. The study provides evidence of a transnationalization of public debates and offers explanations for national variations by resorting to other components of the DOS such as national policy discourse, timing of political agendas, media structure and culture. It concludes by recognizing the need to consider the various dimensions of opportunity structures for movement action, i.e. political, discursive, and economic, and their relative degree of transnationalization or autonomy over global forces.     

安全隐患所引发的转基因产品贸易争端及中国的对策研究

生物技术的蓬勃发展及其在农业生产中的广泛应用 ,使得全球转基因产品的种植面积和贸易量迅速上升。然而 ,转基因产品在安全方面存在的隐患导致了主要农产品进出口国之间激烈的贸易争端。文章探讨了全球转基因产品的发展及其贸易格局的变化概况、转基因产品的安全隐患所引发的贸易争端及其实质 ,分析了WTO及有关全球环境条例对转基因产品贸易的制约和争端解决机制 ,进而提出WTO背景下中国的应对措施。     

Civil society challenges the global food system: the International Monsanto Tribunal

ABSTRACT

The global food system has severe implications for human health, soil quality, biodiversity, and quality of life. This paper provides an analysis on how transnational alliances challenge the global food system. We illustrate this by focusing on the activities and hearings of the International Monsanto Tribunal (IMT), held in the Hague in 2016. The IMT provided a platform for civil society and enabled transnational alliances to demand attention for local struggles and legal disputes in relation to Monsanto’s products. With the involvement of independent and renowned experts, the knowledge exchange between local victims and civil society was enhanced, and the IMT reinforced social movement’s goals towards demanding justice for the negative effects associated with the global food system. The advisory opinion determined that Monsanto’s practices are in violation with human rights standards. The IMT exemplified that there is an immediate need for structural change in the current global food system.     

中国涉农公务员群体转基因态度、认知及其影响因素调查与分析

由于特殊的职业属性与身份特质，公务员群体的转基因态度对社会公众具有一定的示范与引导作用。通过对全国3018名主要涉农公务员进行转基因态度及认知的问卷调查发现：公务员群体整体上对转基因持有较为积极的态度，但同时伴有一定的担忧情绪。在转基因议题上，公务员群体呈现出明显的个人行为态度与国家行为态度的二元分化。在个人消费层面上，公务员群体依旧抱有较为保守的反对态度；而在国家研发与管控层面上，公务员群体则表现出与国家政策方针较为一致的支持态度。此外，公务员群体整体基因科学素养不高，并倾向于对转基因阴谋论持有中立或认可的态度。心理风险感知是公务员群体支持或反对转基因最为重要的认知因素。因此，有必要针对公务员群体开展定向的转基因科普宣传，提高这一群体的基因科学素养、降低其阴谋论认知并对其心理风险感知进行有的放矢的干涉。这些工作有望改善公务员群体对转基因的态度，进而推动我国转基因产业化的进程。