Genetically Modified (GM) Crops: Precautionary Science and Conflicts of Interests

Risk governance of GM plants and GMfood products is presently subject to heatedscientific and public controversies. Scientistsand representatives of the biotechnologyindustry have dominated debates concerningsafety issues. The public is suspicious withregard to the motives of scientists, companies,and political institutions involved. Thedilemmas posed are nested, embracing valuequestions, scientific uncertainty, andcontextual issues. The obvious lack of data andinsufficient information concerning ecologicaleffects call for application of thePrecautionary Principle (PP). There are,however, divergent opinions among scientistsabout the relevance of putative hazards,definition of potential ``adverse effects,' andwhether actions should be taken to preventharm. The reliance on the concept ofsubstantial equivalence in safety evaluation ofGM food is equally controversial. Consequently,value assumptions embedded in a scientificframework may be a barrier for employment ofthe PP. One of our major conclusions is thatprecautionary GMP usage requires riskassessment criteria yet undeveloped, as well asbroader and more long-term conceptions of risk,uncertainty, and ignorance. Conflicts ofinterest and public participation are otherissues that need to be taken intoconsideration. GMP governance regimes that arejustifiable from a precautionary and ethicalpoint of view must transcend traditionalscientific boundaries to include alternativescientific perspectives as well as publicinvolvement.     

You Are What You Eat: Genetically Modified Foods, Integrity, and Society

Thus far, the moral debateconcerning genetically modified foods (GMF) hasfocused on extrinsic consequentialist questionsabout the health effects, environmental impacts,and economic benefits of such foods. Thisextrinsic approach to the morality of GMF isdependent on unsubstantiated empirical claimsand fails to account for the intrinsic moralvalue of food and food choice and theirconnection to the agent's concept of the goodlife. I develop a set of objections to GMFgrounded in the concept of integrity andmaintain that food and food choice can beintimately connected to the agent's personalintegrity. I argue that due to the constitutionof GMF and the manner in which they areproduced, such foods are incompatible with thefundamental values and integrity of certainindividual moral agents or groups. I identifythree types of integrity that are threatened byGMF: religious, consumer, and integrity basedon certain other moral or metaphysical grounds.I maintain that these types of integrity aresufficiently important to provide justificationfor political and societal actions to protectthe interests of those affected. I conclude byproposing specific steps for handling GMFconsistent with the moral principles ofinformed consent, non-maleficence, and respectfor the integrity of all members of society.They include mandatory labeling of GMF, theimplementation of a system for control andregulations concerning such foods, andguaranteed provision of conventional foods.     

Hamburgers and the Rainforest – a Review of Issues and Evidence

This paper examines the relationship between North American beef consumption and deforestation in South and Central America. Some writers have argued that consumption of hamburgers in North America, particularly hamburgers consumed in fast food restaurants, contributes to the depletion of the rainforest in South and Central America. We survey the published policy literature on the causes of rainforest depletion in the region. We also review the published estimates of the rate and extent of clearing of rainforest that has occurred in South and Central America since 1970. Finally, we review the data on beef imports and consumption in Canada and the United States in a effort to assess the importance of South and Central America as suppliers of beef to the North American market. We conclude that the relationship between beef consumption in North America should not be considered an important cause of forest depletion in South and Central America. Domestic policies and market forces in the countries where rainforests are located are the leading causes of rainforest depletion in this region. This lesson seems to have been lost on some popular and even some textbook writers on this subject. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

关于安全投资效益目标函数的建立和优化

通过对安全投资与事故经济损失的规律性的分析研究，确立安全投资与经济效益的内在关系，进一步探索在我国现有财力和安全水平的基础上，找准安全投资的投向，优化安全投资的合理分配，从而实现最大限度地提高企业安全生产水平和安全投资效益。为政府部门或企业提供一套经过优化、科学合理、操作性又比较强的安全投资方案，供各级领导进行安全决策，实现本部门、本单位的安全投资计划时参考     

四川德昌县典型泥石流灾害风险评价

四川德昌县虎皮弯沟、凉峰沟和凹米罗沟为凉山州安宁河一级支流茨达河的3条支沟，泥石流危险度依次为0．49，0．65和0．45，分别属于中度危险、高度危险和中度危险的泥石流沟；泥孑亍流易损度依次为0．79，0.82和0.81，分别属于高度易损、极高易损和极高易损的泥石流沟；泥石流风险度依次为0．39，0．53和0.37，均属于高风险泥石流沟，容易造成较大的泥石流灾害损失。2004年8月24日，因持续高强度降雨，导致3沟同时暴发泥石流，给当地社会经济和人民群众的生命财产造成丁巨大损失。建立了泥石流灾害损失评价方法，对这3场泥石流灾害损失进行了评价。针对此类严重灾害的高风险泥石流沟，提出了相应的整治建议，以减少和避免重大灾害的再次发生。     

甘肃省农业生产风险因素分析

农业生产风险主要受耕地生产潜力、播种面积、抵御自然灾害的能力及政策保障能力等因素的影响。根据甘肃省粮食产量统计资料，在甘肃省粮食综合生产能力评价研究的基础上，讨论了各类风险因素对粮食生产和粮食安全的影响，提出加强农田水利建设，提高抵御自然灾害风险的能力应是提高全省粮食综合生产能力的重要策略。     

食品安全管理存在问题及其对策研究

食品是人类赖以生存和发展的重要物质基础。当前食品安全形势严峻,面临来自多方面的挑战。食物中毒、滥用杀虫剂、采用新技术和新工艺等带来的食品安全问题,还有生产流通环节的问题。笔者论述了食品安全的定义及内涵;介绍国内、外食品安全现状的基础上,分析了食品安全的重要性;进而提出了食品安全的可行性对策:完善我国食品安全法律法规与标准体系,建立和健全食品安全管理的专门机构,加强食品流通秩序的管理,构建系统的食品安全教育培训体系,加强社会监督,发挥消费者在食品安全问题中的积极作用等。     

机械设备故障与事故管理

阐述机械加工企业机械设备的故障分类、原因、机理和管理方法，以及设备的事故管理和工伤事故经济损失。     

区域性洪涝灾害的灾情评估

以区域孕灾环境、致灾因子和承灾能力三方面的资料为基础,探讨了如何运用地理信息系统和评估模型进行洪涝灾害灾情评估的思路和方法.经实例验证,综合灾害经济损失总量、区域调节承受能力和灾后社会或部门追加投入总量的洪涝灾度评估方法,可对区域实际遭受洪涝灾害的破坏程度和影响深度做出科学、客观、合理的评估.     

Food Security in Complex Emergencies: Enhancing Food System Resilience

This paper explores linkages between food security and crisis in different contexts, outlining the policy and institutional conditions needed to manage food security during a crisis and to rebuild the resilience of food systems in periods of relative peace. The paper reviews experiences over the past decade of countries in protracted crisis and draws lessons for national and international policy. It assesses the different alternatives on offer in fragile countries to address, for example, the disruption of institutional mechanisms and the decreasing level of support offered by international donors with respect to longer-term expectations. It proposes a Twin Track Approach to enhance food security resilience through specific policies for protracted crises that link immediate hunger relief interventions with a long-term strategy for sustainable growth. Finally, the article analyses policy options and the implications for both short- and longer-term responses vis-à-vis the three dimensions of food security: availability; access; and stability.