Safe or Not Safe Deciding What Risks to Accept in Our Environment and Food

Safe or Not Safe aims to present a comprehensive picture of food-related risk issues, as observed in daily life. Included are numerous real-life examples showing how scientists measure, assess, evaluate and manage potential risks, and how this helps us to decide how to manage our food chain and ultimately the food we eat.

The book is divided into four interrelated chapters. Chapter one deals with risk: Risk examples are given from our daily life, illustrating what we need to know about risks and how to manage them. Chapter two addresses the risks to biodiversity. Chapter three investigates the risks chemical contaminants pose to our health through the food chain. The final chapter reviews the last three decades of creating genetically engineered food, focusing not only on the science behind the technology, but also on issues, such as consumer choice and rights, politics, product usefulness, and the availability of alternatives.

Aimed especially at food science professionals and educators, undergraduate and graduate students, health professionals, and an interested general public will also benefit greatly from this resource.

Based on an EU workshop at the end of 2005, the book discusses risk and our food supply. The introductory chapter will discuss all aspects of risk and how it applies to food, from risk classification to risk management. Following a discussion of risk, the authors will present three different case studies that will emphasize the following issues:

• What do we want as individuals, as a society
• What is the political context of the risk discussion
• When do we act and what are the costs of not acting/acting
• International trade and legal issues
• Moral dimensions of decision making
• How do we deal with the disproportionate "power" of the various stakeholders
• Rationality/emotive aspects of argumentation (connection between perception /live experiences, knowledge)
• What are facts- and do they change with time
• Psychological aspects: rapture of trust; the need for certainty; connection between danger, fear and risk