Safe or not safe : deciding what risks to accept in our environment and food / Paul Pechan ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Pechan, Paul.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Food--Safety measures.

Food.

Environmental risk assessment.

Physical Description:

xii, 145 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Springer, [2011]

Summary:

Safe or Not Safe aims to present a comprehensive picture of food-related risk issues, as observed in daily life. Included are numerous real-life examples showing how scientists measure, assess, evaluate and manage potential risks, and how this helps us to decide how to manage our food chain, and ultimately the food we eat.

The book is divided into four interrelated chapters. Chapter one deals with risk: Risk examples are given from our daily life, illustrating what we need to know about risks and how to manage them. Chapter two addresses the risks to biodiversity. Chapter three investigates the risks chemical contaminants pose to our health through the food chain. The final chapter reviews the last three decades of creating genetically engineered food, focusing not only on the science behind the technology, but also on issues, such as consumer choice and rights, politics,-product usefulness, and the availability of alternatives.

Aimed especially at food science professionals and educators, undergraduate and graduate students, health professionals, and an interested general public will also benefit, greatly from this resource. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Risks 1

1 Why Are We Writing About This Topic? 1

2 Risk as a Science Topic and Expected Impact on the Society 2

2.1 What Is Risk? 2

2.2 Varying Concepts of Risk 4

2.3 Basic Components of Risk 5

2.4 Characteristics of Risks in the Modern World: New Challenges to Risk Governance 7

2.5 The Integration of Perceptions and Social Concerns 10

3 Analysis of the Risk Issues Involved 12

3.1 How to Deal with Systemic Risks? 12

3.2 The "Traditional" Understanding of Risk Governance 13

3.3 The Need for an Integrated Framework of Risk Governance 18

3.4 Risk Management Styles According to Different Regulatory Styles of Risk Governance 23

4 Stakeholder and Public Involvement 23

4.1 Stakeholder Involvement and the Synthesis of Conflicting Perspectives 23

4.2 Coping with the Plurality of Knowledge and Values 26

4.3 International Challenges When Dealing with Transboundary Risks 29

5 Premises for Successful Risk Governance 31

5.1 Organizational Capacity to Deal with Risks 31

5.2 Prerequisites of Good Governance 32

5.3 Principles of the Governance of Systemic Risks 33

6 Chapter Summary 35

Glossary 36

References 37

2 Biodiversity at Risk 41

1 Why Are We Writing About This Topic? 41

2 Why Is Biodiversity Important for the World and for Everyday Life? 44

3 Science and Background 46

3.1 Simple Risks to Biodiversity 47

3.2 Complex Risks to Biodiversity 49

3.3 Uncertain Risks to Biodiversity 51

3.4 Ambiguous Risks to Biodiversity 53

4 What Do We Do with What We Know? 54

4.1 Risk Assessment 54

4.2 Risk Management 59

4.3 Risk Communication 66

5 Future Perspectives 68

6 Chapter Summary 70

Glossary 71

References 73

3 Chemical Contaminants in Food 79

1 Why Are We Writing About This Book 79

2 Chemical Contaminants and Expected Impact 80

3 Why Is the Study of Health Effects Caused by Contaminants Important? 80

4 Dloxin: Description and Origin 81

4.1 Detecting and Assessing the Effects of Dioxins 82

4.2 Dioxin: Impact on Humans/Animals 84

4.3 Dioxin Effects in Humans 85

4.4 Sources of Dioxin Exposure 87

4.5 Pollution/Accidents 88

4.6 General Pollution 88

4.7 Food-Related Accidents 89

4.8 The Baltic Sea 90

4.9 Routes of Dioxin Exposure 90

4.10 Food: Baby/Adult 91

4.11 Mechanisms of Action of Dioxin and Dioxin-Like Chemicals 92

4.12 Mechanism of Action of AhR 93

5 Managing Risk 94

5.1 The Toxic Equivalent Factors 94

6 Future Perspectives 96

7 Chapter Summary 97

Glossary 97

References 97

4 The Food Choices We Make 101

1 Why Am I Writing About This Topic? 101

2 Why Have Genetically Modified Food? Why Is It Important for the World? 102

2.1 History: The Big Picture 102

3 GM Crops and Food 103

3.1 When First Grown? 103

3.2 How Much Is Being Grown and Where? 104

3.3 Why Grow Them? 104

3.4 What Is Different About Creating GM Crops from New Conventional Crops? 105

3.5 How Safe? 106

4 How Genetic Engineering Works 107

4.1 Understanding the Principles of Genetics 107

4.2 The Role of DNA, RNA, and Proteins 107

4.3 Enzymes and DNA Manipulation 107

4.4 Living Cells: Plant Regeneration from Single Cells 108

4.5 DNA Delivery into Plant Cells 108

4.6 Development of Verification Methodologies 109

4.7 Detection and Identification of GMO 109

5 Risk Governance: What Do We Do to Make Sure GM Crops Are Safe? 110

5.1 Risk Assessment 111

5.2 What Happens If Risk Assessment Does Not Lead to Clear Answers? 113

6 Risk Management 113

6.1 Risk Management in the Face of Uncertainty: The Use of the Precautionary Principle 114

6.2 Political Dimension of the Precautionary Principle 115

6.3 Why Should Precautionary Principle Be Applied to GM Crops and Their Products? 115

6.4 When Should the Precautionary Principle Be Triggered? 115

6.5 What Happens When Precautionary Principle Is Invoked? 116

6.6 Application of the Precautionary Principle to GM Crops in Europe 118

6.7 Precautionary Principle Impact on Innovation and as a Tool for Reaching International Trade Agreements 119

6.8 Concluding Comments 122

7 Communicating GMO Issues 123

7.1 The Challenge of Communicating Risk Issues 123

7.2 Attitudes to Risks Concerning GM Crops and Products 124

7.3 Why Communicate GMO Issues 126

7.4 Who should Do the Communicating and Where Should It Take Place? 127

7.5 What should Be Communicated 127

8 Addressing Potential Risks of GM Crops: Case Study of Germany 128

8.1 Public Opinion and Media 129

8.2 Politics 130

8.3 Regulations 132

8.4 Risk Assessment, Politics, and Decision Making 134

9 Future Prospects 135

10 Chapter Summary 136

Glossary 137

References - Key Resources 141

Internet-Based References 142.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781441978677

1441978674

OCLC:

738478950