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“Interactive Technology Assessment” and Beyond: the Field Trial of Genetically Modified Grapevines at INRA-Colmar

2010; Public Library of Science; Volume: 8; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pbio.1000551

1545-7885

Olivier Lemaire, Anne Moneyron, Jean E. Masson,

Agriculture and Rural Development Research

There is increasing interest worldwide in how decision-making processes concerning controversial technological innovations can be improved by better integration of input from society at large. Aiming to gain knowledge on grapevine defence mechanisms against grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV), a severe disease, scientists wanted to carry out a field trial of genetically modified grapevine rootstocks in Alsace. Three millennia of winemakers' tradition and innovation suddenly collided in this highly reputed cradle of French viticulture. The French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) used the Interactive Technology Assessment (ITA, Box 1) method in an initial consultation phase to integrate public input and then went beyond ITA to carry out the field trial. The implementation phase was made possible by the involvement of a Local Monitoring Committee (LMC, Box 2) with broad stakeholder representation. In the course of 7-years' work, the LMC built a research-action program which allowed redesigning of the initial GM grapevine research assay, as well as developing innovative trials on environmental impact and organic viticulture. Box 1: Interactive Technology Assessment Interactive Technology Assessment [4] consists in ensuring the interaction of three “worlds”: research, the profession (industry), and civilian society. The idea is to set up a small group (in practice, 12 to 14 people) to provide a forum for discussion. The ITA's leader chooses membership of the group relying on criteria that reflect different visions of the world and different professional backgrounds. The group focuses on the subject, develops the questions it wishes to raise, explores the different dimensions of the problem, and compiles a report. At the end of its work, the report and/or opinion serve as a support for decision makers [5]–[7]. Box 2: The Local Monitoring Committee The Local Monitoring Committee comprises members from the Alsace winegrowing profession, the Association of Alsace Winegrowers, the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, the Alsace Consumers Association, the Agricultural and Viticultural Training School, an agricultural union (la Confederation Paysanne), a nature preservation society (Alsace Nature), an independent winegrower, a neighbour of the trial site, a representative from the Plant Protection Services (DRAAF), a representative from the Regional Directorate for the Environment (DIREN), an elected representative from the Regional Council, an elected representative from the Town Council, the researcher managing the research programme and the President of the INRA Centre in Colmar, who acts as moderator. In contrast to the usual mode of composition of committees, membership in the LMC was spontaneous. Members of the CLS attended each meeting without preparing any proposals or objections in advance, and without intending to force any viewpoint. Each meeting was the subject of an exhaustive report on its discussions. During the six years of effort and reflection, the LMC members referred to their commitment (which remained unchanged during this period) as a “motivation,” experiencing the issues to be addressed as singular and complex: “these are subjects that are anything but simple”; “this is not a subject like any other, that is why we are here!”; “Today, we could be at several other meetings starting at the same time, but we are here!”; “The challenge, and the motivation, for us is that everything starts here.” ITA versus LMC The initial ITA was a short-term consultation which let the committee members express themselves and properly describe obstacles and possible issues to INRA research projects on grapevine. Concerning the GMO root-stocks trial, the ITA report suggested that it should be followed by a local monitoring committee ([6],[7]; http://www.inra.fr/la_science_et_vous/ogm). The LMC, in the course of 7-years' work, defined its own route, notably while re-designing the initial research project and diversifying research objectives, which was not within the intents of the ITA. The LMC headed a research–action program, which can be considered as a type of PTA (Participative Technology Assessment). Over the past decades, society in Europe has experienced repeated crises highlighting cross-relationships between health, politics, science, agriculture, the environment, and society. The immediate effect of these unprecedented crises has been the growth of doubt, and “the collapse of certainties linked to the idea of guaranteed progress, and collapse of the idea that science and technology can only be beneficial has introduced the worm of uncertainty everywhere” [1]. This change in public attitude in Europe is perfectly illustrated by the acceptability of genetically modified (GM) plants. During the late 80s and early 90s, Europe was a hotbed of research and development concerning GM plants, and numerous field trials were performed without significant public opposition. More recently, attitudes in many European countries have become distinctly anti-GM, as shown by the repeated destruction of field trials of GM crops. Years after the directive 2001/18/EC of European Parliament, the political posture of European countries has still not settled [2]. Nonetheless, there are certain cases where genetic engineering is one of the few means available to solve a major agronomic problem or to study fundamental mechanisms of plant biology, as a first step. For instance, Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV), which is transmitted by soil nematodes, is the cause of an often lethal disease of grapevines with worldwide distribution. Until recently, controlling the disease typically involved removing infected individuals and treating the soil in and around the focus of infection with nematicide fumigants, but this is no longer possible, since these nematicides were banned due to their unacceptable environmental impact. For this reason, researchers at the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) and several other labs developed potentially GFLV-resistant grapevine rootstocks, on which non-GM scions of the traditional grape cultivars could be grafted [3]. Since the virus is soil-transmitted, the resistance of the rootstocks should be sufficient to protect the scions, thus making it possible to make non-GM wine from the grapes borne by the scions. Following the authorization of the French Ministry of Agriculture, and based on opinion of the Biomolecular Engineering Commission (B/FR/94-11-04), a first GM rootstock trial was set up in 1996 on a grapevine plot in the Champagne region that was affected by GFLV. Analyses performed on the plot suggested that the GM rootstocks could delay the onset of GFLV infection by at least three years [3] (Figure 1). The researchers wanted to confirm these preliminary results, to determine the mechanism of this resistance to the disease, and also assess its sustainability and environmental impact. However, in a period of increasing hostility towards GM organisms, particularly in France, an article entitled “Des bulles OGM dans le champagne” (1999) (“GM bubbles in Champagne”) was published by a prominent weekly satirical paper, the Canard Enchaine. This led INRA's partners to abandon the project because they did not want to face the issues of public acceptability of wine made from grapes borne by partly GM grapevines. This put an end to the first field trial, and raised the question of whether it would be possible to continue elsewhere, and if so under what conditions. Figure 1 The first GM grapevine rootstock trial in a vineyard, 1996–1999.