This thesis analyses the development of safety regulation for the intentional release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) between 19 89-92, especially in Britain in its European context, and by contrast to the USA. The thesis emphasizes the practical dilemmas of GMO regulation in accommodating uncertainties about public unease and environmental harm. It serves as a case study of safety regulation as a constructed rationality, of national regulatory styles, and of environmental precaution. In anticipating hazards prior to evidence of harm, GMO regulation had a contested 'rational' basis. Regulators encountered disputes in defining the risk problem, in establishing risk-management institutions, and in reducing scientific uncertainty about potential harm. Insofar as GMO regulation had a precautionary content, it undermined the 'rational' stereotype of risk-assessment steps. Both the precautionary potential and its limits derived from the project of overcoming obstacles to a biotechnology market. This meant symbolically normalizing GMOs as benign products, while specifying testable ecological uncertainties rooted in some naturalistic analogy. Technical 'risk' abstracted potential harm from issues of socioagronomic control which underlay the earlier environmental controversy. The thesis argues for recasting theoretical models of safety regulation as a 'technical' or 'procedural' rationality. GMO regulation contained poles of tension which such theoretical models attribute to antagonistic rationalities. Broadly speaking, the regulatory system was managing an internal contradiction between social legitimacy and commercialization. The difficulties of GMO regulation arose from its implicit role in legitimizing biotechnology, by default of any democratic procedure for adjudicating a contentious technoscientific development.

A luminescence based marker system was developed for detection of genetically modified Pseudomonas fluorescens and E. coli. During batch growth in liquid culture, luminescence measured by luminometry was directly proportional to biomass concentration and enabled detection of 104 - 106 cells ml-1 of P. fluorescens and 101 cells ml-1 of E. coli, in actively growing cultures. Following inoculation into soil, detection levels were reduced ten-fold. After the subsequent utilisation of available nutrients, activity and luminescence decreased and luminometry then provided a direct, non-extractive means of measuring population activity of lux-marked inocula. Potential luminescence, measured as luminescence following amendment with nutrients, enabled assessment of the rate of reactivation of the lux-marked inocula and quantification of the size of the activatable population. Both these techniques, and traditional techniques, were used to investigate the survival of P. fluorescens and E. coli in soil microcosms. The effect of matric potential and indigenous organisms on luminescence and on survival of P. fluorescens was assessed. Matric potential significantly decreased the activity of both introduced and indigenous populations, but the indigenous population also significantly decreased the activity and biomass concentration of the introduced P. fluorescens population. Use of luminometry as a non-extractive measure of biomass concentration provided qualitative correlation with viable cell concentration, suggesting its potential for rapid enumeration of marked inocula. Reactivation of cells at increased matric stress was decreased, but use of high substrate:cell ratios at -30 kPa produced higher levels of luminescence and may, therefore, improve the use of luminometry as an estimate of biomass.

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The Biotech dispute at WTO received a great deal of attention, and reopened a wide-ranging debate over the benefits of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their effects on human health and the environment. The dispute was complex and involved a high level of political sensitivity. It brought attention to procedural and substantive issues in which the roles of science and precaution, and the interrelationship between trade law and international law took centre stage. It raised questions as to the degree of risk acceptable to society, as well as questions regarding the regulation of GMOs in the face of continuing uncertainty about the risks they may pose to human health and the environment. This thesis explores both the conceptual foundations and the legal aspects of this debate. It argues that extending the scope of the SPS Agreement in the manner the Biotech decision did is problematic, and overburdens the EU with demonstrating that its GMO authorisation framework is based on scientific risk assessments and not otherwise disguised restrictions on trade. This thesis also highlights that the conflict surrounding GMOs is not limited to the World Trade Organization. By leaving little room for the application of precautionary approaches and non-scientific factors, the Panel largely failed to recognise the institutional and discursive complexity in which the conflict about GMOs is embedded. The thesis concludes that increased sensitivity of WTO law to environmental and non-scientific factors will reduce the existing tension allowing it to coexist with other international treaties.

This thesis examines the role of exports and GMO regulations of the exporting country on the adoption of GM crops by its farmers. The analytic sample includes five major exporting countries including Argentina, Brazil, China, India, and Mexico. I focus only on the crop that is widely grown in each country. The crops are cotton, maize, and soybean. GMO regulations indices, which were constructed by Vigani et al, consists of four categories of different regulations related to import of GMO products. Relative impact of different aspects of GMO regulations on exports are assessed to get a better understanding of domestic production decisions of farmers in major exporting countries. The result for the approval process, risk assessment and international agreement suggested that, these regulations are not significant to influence the adoption rate of the GM crops. The exporting countries, especially the developing countries, usually reluctant to implement the GM regulations because of the high cost of completing the procedures.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

The present study analyzes the economic impact of the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Uruguay's agriculture. Using a partial equilibrium framework the impacts of transgenic varieties are simulated for two crops, rice and potatoes, in small open and closed economies respectively. The model accounts for the presence of market imperfections created by the monopolistic behavior of the genes' patent owner. The change in economic surplus generated after the adoption of the new technology is projected to be positive, although the seed markup charged by the monopolist reduces the surplus compared to a perfectly competitive market. Total deadweight losses and domestic losses are found to increase with the seed premium, as additional monopolist profits are extracted out of the country. Adoption decreases with the seed premium, further reducing the domestic consumer and producer surplus. The results of the study suggest an active role for national technology policies and for the agricultural R&D system in Uruguay to generate conditions that attract the technology's owner to a small market while at the same time reducing the potential losses that monopoly power creates . / Master of Science

Legal Regulation of the Use of Genetically Modified Organisms ABSTRACT The use of genetically modified organisms on a global scale is on the rise which requires their efficient and consistent regulation. The main goal of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal regulation of genetically modified organisms and their use on several levels. After an introduction to the topic, the thesis deals with the key international documents and then moves on to examining different approaches on the topic and exploring regulation in the United States and in the European Union with a connection the legislation in Czech Republic. In addition, four annexes are included at the end of the thesis for a better illustration of the current use of genetically modified organisms in the world.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse legal regulation of genetically modified organisms ("GMO"). This work consists of seven chapters and focuses especially on differences in regulations of the United States of America ("USA") and European Union ("EU"). While the USA consider GMO equal to other products and have no GMO specific legal norms, the EU regulates GMOs with directives and regulations which set GMO apart from other products. Conclusions are being drawn in last chapter. It is suggested, that the protective and economic approach to the GMOs should be ballanced out on the international law scene, so that the development of biotechnology is not slowed down too much, while safety to human health and environment is guaranteed.

Regulation of genetically modified organisms and nanotechnology (comparison of British, Czech and Slovak legislation in the context of EU) The aim of this thesis is to first compare the british, czech and slovak legislation relating to genetically modified organisms. By the analysis of their respective features, the author points out the difficult bits and tries to look for the ideal solutions to the current problems of the european GM legislation. In spite of the fact, that the european legislation in this field is highly harmonised, there are still some areas that can be regulated by the member states as well as some holes waiting to be fixed. This thesis is composed of six main chapters which correspond to six main topics of present biotechnology legislation that are in the author's opinion the most significant. First chapter deals with the basic issues of releases of genetically modified organisms into the environment, on market, and with their contained use. Secondly, the author dissects the GM labelling and traceability legislation and shows the various thresholds of GM presence that are applicable to different areas. Third chapter then analyses the rules on co-existence between GM plants on one hand and conventional and organic plants on the other. Nextly, the unilateral acts of member...