Public perception and legislation of biotechnology in Poland

Modern biotechnology is characterised by the value added chain [VAC] of three main factors: VAC = [science & technology] + [law & IPR] + [society & perception]. In this paper the legislation and public perception of biotechnology will be discussed. We found in the Polish society the willingness to accept the novel food. The most significant lesson from the survey is the following: up to two third of Polish society is willing to accept the novel food, however, almost 415 expect some kind of governmental supervision and labelling. We did not find a correlation between knowledge and social position. Over the last three years, there has been a tendency to implement a new Polish law, which would be a 'national copy' of the EU directives implemented with the assistance of the international organisations (OECD, UNEP, UNIDO). In November 1997 a team of experts submitted a project of the Polish "gene law" to the government. A revised proposal will be submitted in December 1999. The project is based on Directives 90/219 and 90/220. The new law on environment protection [article 37a] regulates GMO research, releases and trade. In order to support sustainable development, we need to know the molecular background of nature, and the the legislation to be formulated has to be based on solid science. However, only through the understanding how ordinary people accept genetic engineering can we commercialise the success of modem science.