Abstract
The organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD) was among the first to articulate some of the core principles for Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) environmental risk assessment in the Blue Book in 1986 (OECD Recombinant DNA safety considerations: safety considerations for industrial, agricultural and environmental applications of organisms derived by recombinant DNA techniques, 1986). In Canada, consultations with the scientific community endorsed the OECD principles as an approach to the environmental risk assessment of a GMO, then went further to say that the method used to produce a plant with a novel trait was not as important as the consequences of the introduction of a novel trait to a species. This input from scientists has resulted in the unique Canadian product based “plant with novel trait” approach that despite the wider scope, effectively addresses regulatory issues such as how to deal with some of the emerging techniques for plant breeding that do not meet the regulatory definitions in more process based regulations yet may still result in plants with novel traits that a competent authority wishes to regulate. Using the early consultations on biotechnology as a model, Canada has actively sought to incorporate science in improving risk assessment methodologies for products that do not fit easily into conventional approaches such as the cultivation of modified native grasses or ornamental species for biofuel production, the use of plants as platforms for the production of industrial or immunotherapeutic products and the deployment of modified perennial species such as trees that may have more complex environmental interactions. Science remains the foundation for addressing not only new GM products but also the mass of information generated through the advances in genomics.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berg P, Singer MF (1995) The recombinant DNA controversy: twenty years later. Proc Natl Acad Sci 92:9011–9013
Berg P, Baltimore D, Brenner S, Roblin RO III, Singer MF (1981) Summary statement of the asilomar conference on recombinant DNA molecules. Proc Nat Acad Sci 72(6):1981–1984
Bonneuil C, Joly P, Marris C (2008) Disentrenching experiment: the construction of GM-Crop field trials as a social problem. Sci Technol Hum Values 33(2):201–209
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (2009) Directive (2009–09): plants with novel traits regulated under part V of the seeds regulations: guidelines for determining when to notify the CFIA. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plants-with-novel-traits/applicants/directive-2009-09/eng/1304466419931/1304466812439. Accessed 7 Apr 2014
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (2011) The biology of Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz (Camelina). http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plants-with-novel-traits/applicants/directive-94-08/biology-documents/camelina-sativa-l-/eng/1330971423348/1330971509470. Accessed 7 Apr 2014
Canadian Seed Growers Association (2014) Foundation, Registered and certified production of Camelina. CIRCULAR 6 / Rev.01.9-2014
Frohlich A, Rice B (2005) Evaluation of Camelina sativa oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Ind Crop Prod 21(1):25–31
Government of Canada (1996) Part V release of seed. Regulations respecting the quality of seeds including seed potatoes, and the testing, inspection, and sale thereof (C.R.C., c. 1400)
Government of Canada (1998) The 1998 Canadian biotechnology strategy: an ongoing renewal process. http://www.redetec.org.br/publique/media/bio_canada.pdf. Accessed 7 Apr 2014
Gugel RK, Falk KC (2006) Agronomic and seed quality evaluation of Camelina sativa in western Canada. Can J Plant Sci 86:1047–1058
National Forum on Seed (2008) Facilitating broad consultation and consensus building in the Canadian seed and crop sectors. In: Wozniak CA, McHughen A (eds) Regulation of agricultural biotechnology: The United States and Canada. Chapter 9: regulating the environmental release of plants with novel traits in Canada. Springer, Berlin
OECD (1986) Recombinant DNA safety considerations: safety considerations for industrial, agricultural and environmental applications of organisms derived by recombinant DNA techniques. OECD, Paris
OECD (1992) Safety considerations for biotechnology. OECD, Paris
Wetterstrand KA (2014) DNA sequencing costs: data from the NHGRI Genome Sequencing Program (GSP). www.genome.gov/sequencingcosts. Accessed 7 Apr 2014
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Conference Proceedings “Science into Policy, improving uptake and adoption of research conference” 11th to 13th November 2013 in Brisbane, Australia, a conference sponsored by the OECD Co-operative Research Programme on Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Macdonald, P. Genetically modified organisms regulatory challenges and science: a Canadian perspective. J. Verbr. Lebensm. 9 (Suppl 1), 59–64 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00003-014-0893-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00003-014-0893-9