Das Projekt "Vorsichtsmaßnahmen bei genmanipuliertem Getreide" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität München, Institut für Soziologie, Lehrstuhl Arbeit und Berufe, Soziale Ungleichheit, Umwelt- und Techniksoziologie durchgeführt. For dealing with conflicts over GM crops and their food uses, the precautionary principle has been widely accepted in Europe, but its meaning is contentious. This project will analyse how current European practices compare with different accounts of the precautionary principle. The project will research the following three practices: 1. how regulatory measures draw practical links between risk research, assessment and management; 2. how expert bodies mediate between regulatory science and public-scientific controversy; and 3. how stakeholder groups attempt to influence regulatory processes. All three practices will be studied at EU level and in 7 member states. As general research questions, the project will investigate the following: how the risk issues are framed by the three practices under study; how those practices entail implicit models of science, expertise, the public and agriculture; how policy actors conceptualize the relevant scientific uncertainty; and how they engage in policy learning, e.g. involvement in deliberative processes. The project will build upon and integrate earlier studies of public attitudes, risk regulation, precaution and deliberation. Using the analytical results, the project will suggest how official guidelines and expert bodies could be made more appropriate for addressing the policy problems which the EU faces.