Team:IONIS-PARIS/hp/society-law-gmos
Society, Laws, & Gmo's
Public Opinion
The objectives of the survey
These surveys will provide information to complement our Interactive Map. It will help to understand how GMOs are perceived by the general public, but also how people are informed and whether they feel concerned about the development of GMOs.
The intended audience
Concerning the survey, the target audience is the general population in order to have a generalized perception of GMOs.
Translation work
We translated our survey into 9 languages to allow a maximum people to answer it. We made versions in: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, German, Korean and Arabic. This was feasible thanks to our relatives and friends help but also a great investment of our team members.
Distribution of the survey
The distribution of the survey was done through iGEM teams. They first had to complete the survey before sending it to their families and friends. Thanks to their help, we succeed to gather more than 100 answers for France and Brazil and around 80 answers for Mexico.
The type of information to produce
- The opinion of GMOs according to country, age or gender
- The perception of our product
- The relevance of our Interactive Map.
The conditions of satisfaction
We are looking for information to answer the major problems found by the already existing websites on GMOs. We want to make our platform active and attractive for young, researchers and curious people. Our goal will be reached when our platform will inform about: An adequate definition of GMOs, news about GMOs (the advances in each sector for each country) , a popularized regulation of GMO and a representative opinions.
Consequently, a target of 100 answers is expected per country for each survey to enable us to build our online platform.
The statistical analysis
As said above, we selected the surveys with around 100 answers. Also, 12 out of the 23 questions were analysed to get the population opinion, to make hypothesis whether or not our project could be implemented in the country and to know if our interactive map was a special need to get more information about GMOs. Here are below the conclusions of the 3 surveys we analysed: France, Brazil and Mexico.
With no surprise, we found out that our “Softer Shock” product might struggle to find its place in France.
Several results support this conclusion: firstly, 78% of the population think GMOs are not safe for the environment. Secondly, 144 out of 219 people (65.75%) were concerned by the eventual presence of GMOs in agriculture or environment. And finally, 44% of persons against the use of GMOs on crops to protect them from harsh temperatures.
However, our interactive map project is in accordance with the population’s requirements. It meets the needs of 65% people that wish to develop their knowledge about GMOs.
- Get the full analysis with more details on our interactive map in clicking here
In opposition with France, “Softer Shock” might succeed to find its place in Brazil.
Several results support this conclusion: Firstly, 38% of the population think that GMOs are safe for the environment; Secondly, 49 out of 102 people (48%) are supporting the development and use of GMOs in agriculture or environment. And finally, the 75% of persons for the use of GMOs on crops to protect them from harsh temperatures.
Moreover, our interactive map project is in accordance with the population’s requirements. It meets the needs of 90% people that wish to develop their knowledge about GMOs.
- Get the full analysis with more details on our interactive map in clicking here
To balance the previous results, Mexico is more moderated regarding population opinion. Several results support this conclusion: Firstly, 50% of the population think that GMOs are not safe for the environment; Secondly, 45 out of 80 people (56%) are supporting the development and use of GMOs in agriculture or environment. And finally, the 84% of persons voting for the use of GMOs on crops to protect them from harsh temperatures.
Moreover, our interactive map project is in accordance with the population’s requirements. It meets the needs of 90% people that wish to develop their knowledge about GMOs.
- Get the full analysis with more details on our interactive map in clicking here
These 3 analysis give us a precise vision of the public opinion in the concerned countries. Regarding our interactive map, the objective was to work on different fields for 6 countries (USA, Taïwan, Spain, France, Mexico and Brazil). However, the lack of answers for 3 of them do not allow us to show representative results. From the public opinion follows the creation of laws and regulation of the country.
If you want to know more about the regulations put in place by different governments, do not hesitate to read our “Law and regulation” part in clicking here.
GMO's Regulation
Objectives
The objective of the data collection for the global regulation of GMO is to complete our interactive map. Also, we want to compare how GMOs are perceived by the government in different countries around the word and how they put into effect the regulation.
Intended audience
The public for the regulation of our project are mainly the population that want to discover easily the GMOs’ regulation of their country or in another one. This part can be useful to the future IGEM teams or for scientific researchers too, to see all the regulatory requirements to start a project in a country.
Data collect
To collect data for all countries, we consult:
- International Organism website (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, …)
- National Organism website (United State Department of Agriculture, the Library of Congress, …)
- National government website
- the Law of the country
- We asked IGEM team in the country for more information
The Regulation
Here are below the data collected about GMO's regulation from 6 countries: Brazil, China, France, Mexico, Spain, United States.
Brazil
Brazil is an open-minded country about the development of GMOs, despite a strict law to limit the spreading of GMOs in the environment Brazil is one of the major producer and exporter of GMO crops. Although, consumption of genetically modified crops is legal the product need to be labeled as transgenic.1 Besides, to protect the environment of the propagation of GMO, Brazil ratified the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.2 An international protocol of good conduct to protect the environment.3
China
This past years, China have enacted many laws on GMOs to boost their research on biotechnology without neglect the environment and the human health. In this optic, research on GMOs are facilitate but the cultivation and the commercialization are strictly supervised. The consumption of modified crops is possible, but the product has to present a label .4, 5 The Cartagena protocol was also ratified by China.2
France
France has a really strict law on GMO, in addition to the European law, France enacts other laws to restrict their utilization. Due to the unfavorable opinion public opinion on the subject, there is no GMO cultivation in France except for some scientific research and the consumption of transgenic product is practically inexistent despite a flexible law on the subject.6, 7 The Cartagena protocol was also ratified by France.2
Mexico
Mexico’s Law on GMO, privilege the right use of safety during the manipulation of it. Many reports are required on the identification, the evaluations and the strategies planned to counter the spreads of GMO in the environment. Despite this safety, Mexico produce many type of GMOs and the law for the consumption of modified crops specify that a transgenic product did not require a specific label unless special condition.8, 9 The Cartagena protocol was also ratified by Mexico.2
Spain
Unlike France, Spain is an open-minded European country about GMOs. It is the biggest producer of GMO crops in Europe. Like France, Spain must follow the European law on GMO, but the country also enacts their own law for the research and production of GMO. In the other hand, for their consumption, Spain only follow the European recommendation.10, 11 The Cartagena protocol was also ratified by Spain. 2
United State
The United States are the biggest producer of GMO thanks to a different point of view from the society, government and economy of the country. In the United States most GMOs are considered as safe for the human health. This point of view facilitates companies and individuals to produce and consume GMO than in other countries. Indeed, GMOs are considered as a food additive by the US law and not as a biologic product.4, 12 In this optic, the United States did not ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to protect the environment of the propagation of GMO.2
During this data collect, we saw different point of view on GMOs. We only focus on 6 countries, but we want to continue filling out the interactive map to have a global overview of the different regulation in the world. Afterward, we were curious about different applications of synthetic biology on these countries and how companies and scientific researchers adapt their work to their country regulation. Click on the link to see these applications.
References
2 Convention on Biological Diversity
6 FAS Paris, France - Agricultural Biotechnology Annual, USDA, 2016
7 Law n° 2008-595 of 25th June 2008 relatives to geneticaly modified organisms
8 Zeind A. et al, Agricultural law in Mexico: overview, 2016
11 Guerrero Marta, Spain - Agricultural Biotechnology Annual, USDA, 2016
Interactive map
Objectives
We wanted to understand how society perceive GMOs in the world and where our project Softer Shock will be more suitable to be develop. Our goal is to share and communicate a maximum of information to know how GMOs work around the world in an attractive, objective and funny way. The map was designed with the help of iGEM teams through surveys (go to “Dialogue and Education” to see the survey analysis) to respond to society’s need for information and to be open source to everyone (researchers, entrepreneurs, iGEM teams, and the general public).
The first step to creating these surveys was to identify the key issues through a review of current sources of information on GMOs addressed to the general public. The second step was to translate the survey into several languages with the help of friends and family and distribute it around the world.
Several iGEM teams helped us to distribute the surveys in their country. Thanks to them we collected answers from all over the world and got more than 100 responses from key countries such as Mexico, France, Spain, and Brazil. We used these four countries to gauge the major needs of a society with respect to GMOs and develop a general approach for other countries.
The results also reflect the historical and current-events context in health, environment, and agriculture sectors, as well as reactions of regulations and safety directives in place in these countries.
We reviewed the GMO safety and application regulations in 6 countries: Spain, France, Mexico, Brazil, China, and USA. We didn’t analyse the surveys for China, USA, and Spain because there were not enough answers. We also reviewed the current state of GMO deployment in these countries.
How was the interactive map coded?
A few words from our computer engineer
The online interactive map collects and displays the results of our international GMO survey about. The website was made with Bootstrap, JavaScript, and JQuery, while the map itself is displayed using D3.js.
The smooth slide scrolling effects were achieved using the One Page Scroll library, and all animations are pure CSS.
Click hereto see the interactive map
Working on these countries allowed us to be in a direct contact with their iGEM teams. Some of these countries also encountered problems from climate change that affects vineyards in Mexico, Spain and Greece (which is not yet represented on the map).
They spoke with us by Skype and distributed our survey among the winemakers in order to understand how they deal with climate change and introduce Softer Shock as a potential solution. Most of them gave advice for French vineyards on which techniques should be used. To find out more go to “Dialogue with Experts”.
Dialogue with experts
Integration of Softer Shock in the world of industry
Our team needed a deeper understanding of how our project can be developed industrially. We interviewed experts in plant protection, law, and economics to understand the effect that softer shock would have in the business world. For each meeting we add the link of the full transcript which you can read below each paragraph.
1- Discussion about the interactive map with Mr Tarnowski - Swiper CEO - 07/26/2017
We met Mr Tarnovsky, CEO of Swiper. As he has valuable knowledge about websites and data, we organized a meeting during the summer.
The idea of the interactive map was discussed and what we needed to do so it becomes a valuable tool that can help a lot of people. The aspects highlighted were the importance and the ways to get data. It was advised to build a prototype of the map so we could assess the behaviour of the user. it was suggested that the prototype must contain a limited amount of countries such as the one belonging to the G20 group.Datas must be collected from the prototype so that the project can answer to the visitor’s need. In order to get those datas, the prototype would display a restricted amount of information and the website would be fully accessible only when the survey is filled. This ensure the degree of data filling. Other ways include offering visibility and advertising from partners.
- To see this interview click on this link
2- Regulation and laws conversation with the Haut Conseils des Biotechnologies (HCB) - 09/26/2017
We met Mr Pujol and Mr Rémondet: “Scientific officers” at HBC to enlighten us on all questions concerning GMOs. The HCB is responsible for informing the public decision. It advises us on all matters of biotechnology, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
During this interview, we presented our project to our interlocutors to know their point of view and to get advice to improve our presentation. We particularly discussed about some techniques to do “GMOs” accepted by the laws by using New Plants Breeding Techniques. They also help us to place our project in a GMO category for the society security.
To finish, they encourage us to continue to be engage with farmers and consumers because they will helps us to integrate SofterShock in the society.
- To see this interview click on this link
3- Discussion with Mrs Françoise Roure economist in the biotechnology field - 05/17/2017
Mrs Roure is an economist, chair of the Committee "Safety, Security and Risks" and Ministry of Economy in France. The goal of this meeting was to discussed about the place of synthetic biology in the current economy context.
Our interview with Mrs. Roure was at the beginning of our iGEM adventure! She helped us build our human practices and advised us to address certain point such as the toxicological study or the sustainable soil development. We also discussed a long time about the killswitch system and she gives us some idea to develop one.
Mrs Roure has been very helpful for this aspect of the competition. She found us many contacts in order to have the the best expertise for our project.
- To see this interview click on this link
4- Plant protection conversation at UIPP with Mrs Eugénia Pommaret - 09/12/2017
The goal of this meeting was to talk about the plant protection and specifically on the regulation and the communication around the agricultural world. This company called IUPP worked on the development of good practices for farmers. Eugénia Pommaret the executive director of UIPP (union of industry for the protection of the plant) met us in order to help us in the elaboration of our project softer shock.
She advised us to look at the European regulations because it will define what our biological solution is. Currently, winegrowers are using pheromones produced by genetically modified bacteria. This technique is completely allowed in France and we can try to follow this example in order to place our biological solution on the French market.
- To see this interview click on this link
5- Plant protection conversation with Mr Bocquet Director of the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) - 07/12/2017
The goal of this meeting was to talk about the plant protection with Mr Bocquet former director of the European Crop Protection Association. He helped us to enhance our presentation and gives us pieces of advice such as emphasizing the cold shock part as a marketing priority (for vineyards, specifically).
Mr Bocquet has been very helpful for the human practices part of the iGEM competition. He provide us contacts in order to have the best expertise for our project.
- To see this interview click on this link
6- Climate change conversation with Mr Pauthier working as terroir Project Manager at Comité champagne - 07/01/2017
The goal of this interview was to understand the main climate changes affecting the vineyard in France. We discussed about the dangers of cold temperature and also how winemakers can reduce the impact of frost with the help of particular devices.
This year, the frost during the spring resulted in a loss of 70% of the grapevines in the region of Bordeaux and a loss of 25% in Champagne. Several techniques to counter these losses are used by professionals in this sector. However it is often expensive and water consuming.
At the end of the meeting, Mr Pauthier offers to us the possibility to do some experimentation in their institution. If the proof of concept is successful, a partnership will be done between the iGEM Paris Ionis team and the Comité Champagne in order to perform some tests in the field.
- To see this interview click on this link
7- Climate change conversation with Mrs Sylviane Leplatre engineer in agronomy and oenologist giving advice to the winemakers in the region of Paris - 08/17/17
The goal of this interview was to understand the main climate changes affecting the vineyard in France and more specifically the south of France affected by very hot summer. We discussed about the dangers of cold and hot temperature and also how winemakers can reduce the impact of frost and heat with the help of particular devices.
Mrs Leplatre think that our project is a good idea because global warming affecting the vineyards are the problem of the year. It was the first time that the south of the France has suffered from frost. There has been 10 % to 15% less production this year because of hail, frost or drought.
As long as your product has no impact on health, she sees no inconvenience in advising the vine growers to use this solution on their vineyards. She also give us some advice on our product. If our solution are working on the vine it will be necessary to irrigate the vineyard in addition because the soil will be dry too and it will be not enough to have only our solution.
- To see this interview click on this link
8- Plant care discussion with Agrauxine - 09/05/2017
The 5th of September we were invited by Agrauxine the business unit of the group LESAFRE PLANT CARE. They are specialise in the development of products from microorganisms for crop protection.
We had the opportunity to met with Mrs. PROFIZI CAMILLE (R&D director), Mr. RONAN KEMPF (Marketing and Development director) and Mrs.GARRIGUES CHRISTELLE (R&D representative from Lesaffre in Angers).
We presented our project to our interlocutors to know their point of view and to get pieces of advice to improve our presentation.
They were very interested in our project and gave us some tips, to present the project to others companies in the same field, what we should delve deeper such as the safety and applied design part about our project and what we should conceal or place in the middle of the presentation to avoid troubles especially in France such as the term GMO and direct contact with the environment. Unfortunately they weren’t able to finance the project due to the company image in France but in exchange they put us in contact with several experts in the French Agriculture regulation like the ANSES and the contact of someone in the United States GMO regulation.
It was a very pleasant experience, to talk to professionals in the plant care, have their opinion about SofterShock and share scientific knowledge. We certainly developed our professional communication skills!
- To see this interview click on this link
9- Plant protection conversation with Syngenta - 10/02/2017
The 10th of october, we were invited by Syngenta a biotechnology company that conducts genomic research. We met Mrs Lebas Marie-Cecile (Public Affairs Director) Mr Thevenot Xavier (Strategic Cooperation Director) and Michel Petit (R&D Head).
The goal of this interview was to talk about our project in order to improve it.They were very interested in our project and gave us some tips, to present the project at the Giant jamboree in November. They help us to understand which part of our presentation needed to be clearly explain such as the R&D and safety part. We also re-think about the real interest for farmers to have a thermo-sensitive and autonomous system.
For future perspectives, we talked in a second part about how we can limit the regulation problems by transforming an organism and then induce a horizontal gene transfer to our chassis (directed mutagenesis).
Igem ionis
Is an association created by Sup’Biotech student in 2015. Since this first participation, two teams (2015 and 2016) won the gold medal and several nominations: « Best presentation », « Best applied design », and « Best environmental project ». The strength of the IGEM IONIS comes from its multidisciplinarity and its complementarity.
This year we are 20 members from different schools:18 students from Sup’Biotech1 student from e-artsup1 student from EpitaRead more …
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Location: 66 Rue Guy Môquet94800 Villejuif, France
Email: igem.ionis@gmail.com
