The summary document of the FAO e-mail conference entitled "Public participation in decision-making regarding GMOs in developing countries: How to effectively involve rural people" has now been published. The 12-page document provides a summary of the main issues discussed during this moderated e-mail conference, hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum from 17 January to 13 February 2005, based on the messages posted by 70 people from 35 different countries during the conference. The main topics discussed were if, and to what degree, the rural people of developing countries should participate in decision-making regarding GMOs; misinformation and the type and quality of information required by rural people; appropriate communication channels; costs of public participation; international agreements/guidelines; and scepticism about the public participation process. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/logs/C12/summary.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy.

07/10/2005