Scoping Meetings:
summary of outcomes
1.
section |
appendix 3
Outcomes of Consultation: Submissions
from the Public
Section contents
1.
Scoping Meetings: summary of outcomes
3
Introduction
4
Issues and ideas expressed
4
Outcomes of the scoping process
8
Royal Commission on Genetic Modification | Report Appendix 3
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1. Scoping Meetings:
summary of outcomes
Introduction
To scope the questions for subsequent submissions to the Commission, the
Commission conducted a series of public meetings in Wellington on 7­9 August
2000 and offered an online participation mechanism. The nature of this consultative
process, which was open to any person, is outlined in Appendix 1 of the report (see
"Processes of the Commission: Scoping Meetings: the process"). Written
contributions by mail and email were also received.
This section describes the findings of the scoping process in terms of the issues and
ideas expressed and the outcomes of the scoping process.
Issues and ideas expressed
The scoping process began with sets of general questions, and then allowed
participants to formulate their own range of specific questions. These questions
offered guidance on the full range of issues that the Commission should consider
during the course of its deliberations.
Scoping was a preliminary phase of the Commission's activities. Hence the
responses from participants were assessed for content; in particular, looking for
hitherto unrecognised issues. They were not assigned any statistical weighting nor
were they for use in deliberations. However, a degree of quantitative assessment
occurred in that it was sometimes evident that responses revealed clusters of issues
as major concerns.
The issues and ideas expressed through the scoping process are outlined below in
terms of the type of response:
*
issues generating most response, such as human health, environment and
ethical issues
*
issues crossing several topic areas, such as evidence and uncertainty, long-
term effects, acceptable risk levels, and objectivity and quality of information
*
issues specific to topic areas
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*
questions seeking information because of a lack of clear, reliable information
*
largely rhetorical questions, often about conflicting views regarded as
probably irreconcilable
*
suggestions on topic emphasis.
The examples given illustrate how participants in the scoping process formulated
the range of issues of genetic modification that should be considered by the
Commission.
Issues generating most response
The scoping process revealed high levels of public interest in issues of human
health, environment and ethics. Within the crops and food topic, human health
and environment were significant issues. For the topic of uses of genetic
modification in medicine, human health and ethical issues were at the fore. New
Zealand's international legal obligations also generated numerous responses.
Participants in the scoping process for crops and food expressed their concerns
over risk assessment and the adequacy of testing procedures for food safety,
especially testing for long-term effects of genetic modification. They identified a
need for ongoing and objective research on genetic modification. On
environmental issues, participants formulated a wide range of questions about the
effect of genetically modified crops on soil, biodiversity and biosecurity, and the
risks of horizontal gene transfer.
Assessment of risk was again a major concern when participants considered the
scope of medical issues of genetic modification technology. Contributors
acknowledged the potential benefits of genetic modification in providing safer
and/or more effective medicine but also expressed concerns about the possibility
of unanticipated side effects, allergic reactions or long-term adverse effects. They
stated the need for objective research and public education on medical applications
of the technology.
On ethical issues associated with medical uses, contributors to the scoping process
particularised numerous concerns. These covered a wide range of issues, such as:
equality of access to medical benefits, rights of patient choice, animal welfare,
allocation of health care resources and control of genetic information.
Participants also responded strongly to issues arising from international legal
obligations. They identified New Zealand's policies on genetic modification as
relevant to its international agreements (such as the World Trade Organization's
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the
supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity known as the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety), bilateral agreements with Australia (such as
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Australia and New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement
(ANZCERTA)), and the regulatory regimes of blocs of nations such as the
European Union.
One of the major concerns was intellectual property law relating to the patenting
of genetic information (as a general ethical debate and as an issue of proprietorship,
including rights to indigenous genetic material). Participants questioned whether
New Zealand could have its own intellectual property law distinct from that of its
trading partners. They were concerned by the conflict between access to
information for research needs and the confidentiality demanded by commerce
and they asked whether the commercialisation of genetic modification technology
should be regulated.
Issues crossing several topic areas
Some issues formulated during the scoping process were applicable over a range of
topic areas. They included evidence and levels of uncertainty on aspects of genetic
modification, testing methods, long-term effects, acceptable risk levels, ownership
rights to knowledge, and the objectivity and quality of information. These were
the issues on which participants appeared to want high-level action to provide
appropriate assessment, monitoring, information and education.
As an example of these wide-ranging general issues, questions of objectivity and
quality of information crossed several major topic areas. In crops and food, for
example, participants identified issues relating to: authenticity of facts on food
safety; accuracy and completeness of food labelling; checks on the origin of
products; and the need for independent monitoring of laboratory work and field
trials.
Similarly, in the topic area of medical applications, the scoping process identified
issues of the accuracy of labelling, of the need for integrity in provision of
information on genetic modification, and of patient choice depending on the
completeness of information on medicines derived from genetic modification
technology.
On the subject of intellectual property, participants identified a need for public
education about patent issues. In responses to the subject of liability, they
suggested that provision of full information to end users of the technology would
remove any liability of retailers for the products of genetic modification.
Issues specific to topic areas
Other issues developed by participants in the scoping process were specific to the
main topic area. For example, in the area of crops, food and environment, there
was a specific issue on the marine environment, namely, whether it would be
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regarded as a special case, given the difficulty of its management. Another
involved the dangers of monoculture. On the topic of medical uses of genetic
modification, participants stated concerns over the ethics and risks of
xenotransplants.
Questions seeking information
Some of the issues developed through the scoping process were direct questions
that sought information. They illustrated the complexity and extent of the subject
of genetic modification. Among such questions were:
*
What is the definition of a genetically modified product?
*
What are the differences between genetically modified and non-genetically
modified crops and technologies?
*
When does a food become a medicine (eg vitamins)?
*
What are the current controls on food safety?
*
What are the Treaty of Waitangi obligations to Maori ethical rights?
*
What are the specific Maori issues relating to intellectual property
protection?
These questions confirmed the desire (expressed elsewhere by participants) for
clear and unbiased explanations of the technology. People also sought information
on genetic modification in relation to the special social and legal frameworks of
New Zealand.
Rhetorical questions
Contributors to the scoping consultation also posed rhetorical questions, usually
where there were conflicting viewpoints that they regarded as probably
irreconcilable or matters that they considered as probably unanswerable. Often
these views related to cultural and spiritual issues and people's rights.
Examples included:
*
How does one balance Maori spiritual dimensions with Pakeha frameworks?
*
How can the decision-making process accommodate the divergence of
views of public against private, an individual against society, a minority
culture against a majority culture?
*
Who should choose someone else's genetic destiny?
Suggestions on topic emphasis and process
Various participants in the scoping process (particularly those who provided
written comment by mail, email or online entries) made recommendations that
went further than the formulation of specific issues at the workshop sessions. For
example, they suggested changes in priorities to the blocks of subject matter. One
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such suggestion was to increase the relative importance of ethical issues and
break it down into subcategories of animal rights and welfare, human rights and
ethics, and environmental ethics.
Outcomes of the scoping process
The scoping process provided the Commission with new information. It
confirmed public interest in the issues of genetic modification and prompted
planning for additional consultation initiatives. Participants in the scoping
process provided the Commission with greater particularisation of the issues to
be considered at Formal Hearings of Interested Persons and other forms of
consultation.
Extent of national interest in genetic modification
The Scoping Meetings and online participation were among the earliest
mechanisms for interaction between the Commission and the New Zealand
people. The process revealed the extent of national interest in the subject of
genetic modification and the proceedings of the Commission. This indication of
the extent of public interest, unrelated to the clarification of issues at the heart of
the scoping process, was nevertheless important. It confirmed the necessity for
the Commission's commitment to facilitating dialogue with the people of
New Zealand.
Review of consultation initiatives
As a result of these early indications from the Scoping Meetings of the depth of
public concern, the Commission continued to review and expand its consultative
options throughout August­September 2000. The schedule of Public Meetings
and the Maori Consultation programme were reviewed and expanded. The Youth
Forum was added to the mechanisms for consultation (see Appendix 1, "Processes
of the Commission: Youth Forum: the process" and this volume, "Youth Forum:
summary of outcomes).
The issues identified at the Scoping Meetings were used in the wider public
consultation process of the Public Meetings.
Particularisation of issues
The Scoping Meetings, online participation and written contributions created a
useful information resource on the issues to be considered by the Commission
throughout the remainder of its deliberations. Clustering of responses provided an
indication of which topic areas were related and which were particularly contentious
issues. These blocks of subject matter and clusters of responses assisted the
Commission in scheduling the Formal Hearings of Interested Persons so that
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those with similar interests might be heard during consecutive sessions of
the Hearings.
The scoping process provided an informative introduction to the role of the
Commission in investigating the issues of genetic modification and receiving
representations upon them. It reinforced the Commission's emphasis on consulting
all New Zealanders on this subject.