The current understanding of the environmental impact of GMOs is reviewed in the relevant chapter. Perceived risks and benefits. In forming their views about GMOs, consumers weigh the perceived benefits of accepting a new technology against the perceived risks. Since practically none of the currently available or forthcoming plant and animal GMOs presents obvious benefits to consumers, they question why they should assume possible risks. The science-based methods used to assess risks, together with their relationships with risk management and risk communication, are discussed in the chapter GMOs and human health.
Consumers have a legitimate interest in and right to information with regard to GMOs in agriculture.
This begins with rules for the transparent sharing of relevant information and the communication of associated risks. Science-based risk analysis seeks to enable experts to make decisions that minimize the probability of hazards in the food supply system and the environment. Consumers, however, may also wish for more transparency to protect their right to exercise informed consent on their own. An often-discussed set of means intended to protect these rights is the labelling of products, whether or not they are derived from GMOs. Informed consent and labelling are also discussed in the chapter GMOs and human health.