谁在判定农业转基因生物是否安全——国家农业转基因生物安全委员会群体素描

Who is Judging the Safety of Agricultural GMOs in China:A Sketch of the National Biosafety Committee on Agricultural GMOs

作为判断我国农业转基因生物安全性的法定权威机构,国家农业转基因生物安全委员会一直蒙着神秘的面纱。本研究通过申请政府信息公开,获得了1997年至今全部七届委员会成员名单,并通过互联网检索获得了委员相关信息。对该群体历时性的比较统计分析发现:(1)典型的安委会委员为毕业于精英院校、拥有博士学位和正高级职称、49岁左右的中年男性;(2)委员们聚集于少数城市的少数机构;(3)随着安委会的职业构成从科学家与政府官员共治转变为全部由科学家组成,安委会从一个具有一定决策功能的多部委技术协商机构演变为纯粹的技术咨询机构;(4)安委会中,对转基因生物安全性持乐观态度的专业群体一直占据人数优势。2009年底的转基因水稻安全证书事件触发了安委会改革,但安委会仍存在专业构成不均衡、独立性不足、透明度较低等问题亟待解决。

As the statutory board to assess the safety of agricultural GMOs in China,the National Biosafety Committee on Agricultural GMOs has been under a mysterious veil.This research gets the full list of the Committees since 1997 by applying for government information disclosure and their biographical information through Internet.With the method of comparative statistical analysis,discoveries are as follows:(1)A typical member of the Committee is a 49 years old man,graduated from elite college or institute,with doctoral degree and full professor title;(2)Members of the Committee gather in few institutions of few cities;(3)As the occupational composition of the Committee has changed from the Co-governance of scientists and government officials to pure scientists,the Committee has evolved from a multi-ministerial technically negotiatory council with certain decision-making function to a purely technical advisory institute;(4)The professional groups who are optimistic about the safety of GMOs have always been the majority of the Committee.The protest against the issue of GM rice safety certificate at the end of 2009 triggered the reform of the Committee,yet there are serious deficiencies-imbalance in professional composition,lack of independence and low transparency,left to made up urgently.