Prof. Dr. Bernice Simone Elger

New plant breeding technologies (NBTs) such as genome editing enable more efficient and flexible innovations in agriculture and food production than conventional breeding methods. Therefore, they can potentially contribute to global food security and improve public health and environmental sustainability. However, NBTs are currently covered by the Swiss moratorium on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The regulation of NBTs is difficult due to the low societal and political acceptance of GMOs and their ethical and social impacts. These issues need to be addressed to overcome polarization and enable a conscious public and political debate.

This project aims to provide an ethical assessment of the social and societal impacts of NBTs. We will combine ethical analysis with empirical analysis of public debates and stakeholder perceptions, with a focus on the social acceptance of NBTs in Switzerland. The results of the research project will help to analyze the nature and possible reasons for the low societal acceptance of GMOs in Switzerland and its implications for the regulation of NBTs in Switzerland and the European Union.

Background and rationale:

Despite their potential for more sustainable global food production and growing evidence on their security, New Plant Breeding Technologies (NBTs) are currently strictly regulated in Switzerland and the European Union. They fall under the regulations for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), whose use is currently forbidden in Switzerland and burdened by complicated administrative processes in the EU. Scientists have been voicing their dissatisfaction with these legislations.

Objectives and aims:

Few studies have assessed regulations of GMOs from a perspective that combines international law with an empirical bioethics approach. This project addresses this gap by combining a legal part on the international law dimension of GMO regulations with an empirical part that explores attitudes of two major stakeholder groups: lawyers and plant scientists from Switzerland and from countries with more permissive regulations. We will compare attitudes of both stakeholder groups and of Swiss and international interviewees to understand how they balance involved interests. A normative legal and ethics analysis will be carried out by the project team to integrate and balance health, environmental and sustainability concerns and to propose a new framework for evaluating GMO regulations in Swiss law that integrates under-researched aspects of international law.

Methods:

Traditional legal and ethical desk top research methods will be used to conduct a legal and ethical assessment of the regulations of NBTs, integrating Swiss law and international law and its relevance for Switzerland, as well as internationally. We will combine a legal analysis of international laws and standards relevant to the plant breeding and food industry with a qualitative stakeholder interview study.

We will carry out 60-80 individual interviews combining four cohorts of 15-20 interviewees: Swiss law scholars, international law scholars, Swiss plant scientists, and international scientists (international means here: from countries that have more permissive regulations). In addition, 4 Focus Groups (FG), each bringing together 6-10 participants, will be carried out. All FG will be composed of participants from all four cohorts.

In a final part, we will triangulate the results from all previous parts: we will compare the balancing of interests carried out by the interviewed persons with a legal and ethical balancing of interests. These findings will serve as a "de lege feranda" approach, in order to make policy recommendations. The latter will be discussed with a larger group of Swiss and international stakeholders to broaden the debate by raising awareness of relevant international law applicable in Switzerland, as well as of approaches from the international countries included in the empirical interview part.

Expected results and impact in the field:

The international focus of this study will fill a gap concerning legal research, as the implications of different parts of international law (WTO, UN etc.) for the discussion in Switzerland are not fully clear at present. The empirical part will be a way to explore differences in the knowledge and use of available facts and evidence, as well in the balancing of interests of two stakeholder groups that play a major role for the development of new legal regulations. Project results will make larger Swiss stakeholder groups aware of the role of international law and of attitudes in non-European countries and inform recommendations on how to regulate NBTs in Switzerland in line with existing international (trade and environment) law ratified by Switzerland.

EQUIMED investigates sex and gender inequalities in implantable medical devices. Through interviews and multidisciplinary research, it aims to improve equity in medical technology.

Despite technological advancements, medical devices do not function the same way for men and women, with women experiencing more adverse effects. Implantable devices are particularly affected by sex and gender biases. EQUIMED studies this issue in Switzerland, the UK, and Germany by analyzing data, interviewing experts and patients, and evaluating ethical policies. Its goal is to make these devices safer and more effective for everyone.

EQUIMED seeks to understand and reduce these inequalities by exploring why women and gender minorities face higher risks and what factors contribute to these disparities. Its research will support the development of fairer solutions for implantable medical devices, such as pacemakers and neural implants, while also setting new ethical standards in medical technology.

By addressing biases in research, design, and regulation, EQUIMED aims to improve the safety of medical devices for all. The project will provide evidence-based recommendations to help policymakers, manufacturers, and healthcare professionals create more inclusive technologies. Collaboration between regulators, industry, and healthcare providers is essential to ensuring safer and fairer medical devices for everyone.

Imported from Grants Tool 4703090