Ecotoxicity testing: science, politics and ethics

Animal welfare organisations have long been concerned about the use of animals for ecotoxicity testing. Ecotoxicity testing is a necessary part of the statutory risk assessment of chemicals that may be released into the environment. It is sometimes also carried out during the development of new chemicals and in the investigation of pollution in the field. This review considers the existing requirements for ecotoxicity testing, with particular reference to practices in the European Union, including the recent REACH system proposals, before discussing criticisms that have been made of existing practices for environmental risk assessment. These criticisms have been made on scientific and ethical grounds, as well as on questions of cost. A case is made for greater investment in the development of alternative testing methods, which could improve the science, as well as serving the cause of animal welfare. It has frequently been suggested that the statutory requirements for environmental risk assessment are too rigid and bureaucratic. A case is made for flexibility and the greater involvement of scientists in the risk assessment procedure, in the interests of both improved science and improved animal welfare.     

GM crops,the environment and sustainable food production

Today, over 7.1 billion people rely on the earth’s resources for sustenance, and nearly a billion people are malnourished, their minds and bodies unable to develop properly. Globally, population is expected to rise to more than 9 billion by 2050. Given the combined pressures of human population growth, the rapidly growing desire for increased levels of consumption, and the continued use of inappropriate technologies, it is not surprising that humans are driving organisms to extinction at an unprecedented rate. Many aspects of the sustainable functioning of the natural world are breaking down in the face of human-induced pressures including our individual and collective levels of consumption and our widespread and stubborn use of destructive technologies. Clearly, agriculture must undergo a redesign and be better and more effectively managed so as to contribute as well as possible to feeding people, while at the same time we strive to lessen the tragic loss of biodiversity and damage to all of its productive systems that the world is experiencing. For GM crops to be part of the solution, biosafety assessments should not be overly politically-driven or a burdensome impedance to delivering this technology broadly. Biosafety scientists and policy makers need to recognize the undeniable truth that inappropriate actions resulting in indecision also have negative consequences. It is no longer acceptable to delay the use of any strategy that is safe and will help us achieve the ability to feed the world’s people.     

Insect resistance management in GM crops: past, present and future

Transgenic plants expressing insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) were first commercialized in 1996 amid concern from some scientists, regulators and environmentalists that the widespread use of Bt crops would inevitably lead to resistance and the loss of a 'public good,' specifically, the susceptibility of insect pests to Bt proteins. Eight years later, Bt corn and cotton have been grown on a cumulative area >80 million ha worldwide. Despite dire predictions to the contrary, resistance to a Bt crop has yet to be documented, suggesting that resistance management strategies have been effective thus far. However, current strategies to delay resistance remain far from ideal. Eight years without resistance provides a timely opportunity for researchers, regulators and industry to reassess the risk of resistance and the most effective strategies to preserve Bt and other novel insect-resistant crops in development.     

Greener light on GM crops

A new study suggests that the management of crop rotation may be of key importance in determining the environmental impact of introducing genetically modified crops alongside conventional crops. But caution within Europe about these crops remains in the face of pressure from outside. Nigel Williams reports.