•Post-market environmental monitoring of GM crops is mandatory in the EU.•The current practice of PMEM limits its aim of detecting unforeseen adverse effects.•PMEM relies on famers’ questionnaires ...and complaint system, and a literature survey.•Farmers lack the knowledge, time, and motivation to report impacts on biodiversity.•The use of environmental surveillance networks agreed by EFSA should be implemented.
The EU legislation requests post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) of a genetically modified (GM) organism even if its pre-market risk assessment indicated negligible risks. It has been claimed that the monitoring of the only currently commercially cultivated GM plant in the EU, Bt MON810 maize, has not revealed any adverse effects. However, the implementation of its PMEM has been criticised repeatedly by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Although EFSA agreed with the monitoring plan consisting of four tools, as proposed by the company which markets MON810, in practice PMEM has relied on famers’ questionnaires, a farmers’ complaint system, and a literature survey. The fourth approach, environmental surveillance networks, has not been utilised yet. Furthermore, PMEM requires that farmers plant a refuge of non-Bt maize in order to sustain the efficiency of the plant in combating the targeted pest.
This paper aims to contribute to improved PMEM by means of a critical evaluation of its implementation in the Czech Republic based on interviews and a questionnaire survey of farmers who cultivated MON810. The results indicate that a quarter of the farmers who were surveyed did not comply with the refuge requirement. Moreover, farmers often lacked the knowledge, time, and motivation to observe and report the potential impacts of Bt maize on biodiversity, which is supposed to be monitored by the PMEM farmers’ questionnaire.
The findings of this study compound the previous criticism and suggest that the current practice of PMEM limits its aim of detecting unanticipated adverse effects of MON810 maize cultivation on human and animal health and the environment. The PMEM plan should be revised before the approval process of the application for the renewal of the authorisation for MON810 cultivation in the EU continues.
•Czech farmers had exceptionally positive attitudes to genetically modified crops.•Most of the Czech farmers were supportive of genetically modified crops.•Only a few of the farmers opposed ...genetically modified crops.•The Czech public discourse is largely positive about genetically modified crops.•The farmers' supportive discourse was co-constituted by the public discourse.
Background
In the European Union (EU), genetically modified (GM) crops are permitted for cultivation only after a thorough risk assessment and a decision by the European Commission (EC). The central ...scientific body assessing food-related risks is the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It aims to provide high-quality scientific advice for EU decision-makers. However, both the way EFSA performs risk assessment and the independence of its panel members have been subjected to consistent criticism. In this paper, I examine part of the environmental risk assessment in the Scientific Opinion issued by the EFSA GMO Panel, specifically, the impacts of GM maize MON810 on honeybees and earthworms. The evaluated EFSA document forms the scientific basis of the pending EC Draft implementing decision to renew the authorisation for the lawful cultivation of MON810. I assess the reliability of scientific information cited in the Opinion, the use of this information by EFSA, and the safety conclusions drawn in a form of an extended peer review.
Results
My research indicates that the scientific studies cited in the EFSA Opinion in the sections concerning the possible impacts of GM maize on honeybees and earthworms stem predominantly from reliable sources in terms of authorship, financial support, and status of the study. However, the reliability of the studies varies significantly concerning the ecological relevance of the experiments. Moreover, the body of referenced evidence is insufficient to draw conclusions on risk. Relevantly, several types of shortcomings in the use of scientific information in the risk assessment were identified as prevalent, namely: EFSA omits relevant available studies, selectively cites information, misquotes studies, fails to acknowledge uncertainties, fails to call for further research where needed, and fails to critically interpret studies and their findings.
Conclusions
Overall, the findings indicate that the reliability of scientific information and particularly its use by the EFSA GMO Panel produces low-quality scientific advice, which is inconsistent with the Authority Mission Statement. My research would support the call by the European Parliament and NGOs on the EC to withdraw its Draft implementing decision intended to renew the authorisation of MON810 cultivation.
Genetically modified (GM) Bt maize MON810 is promoted as being beneficial for farmers and the environment. The aim of this study was to compare particular claims of the benefits associated with this ...GM maize with Czech farmers' practice. Ten semi-structured interviews and 27 questionnaires obtained from Czech farmers who had grown Bt maize for at least one year in 2005–2016 were analysed qualitatively. The alleged benefits of MON810 cultivation regarding lower levels of fungal disease infestation, yield increase, reduction of insecticide usage, lowered costs, time saving and simple manipulation were enjoyed by a varying proportion of Czech GM farmers. In contrast, some farmers experienced the opposite of the claimed benefit regarding yield, costs, manipulation and time requirements. The exception was the 100% control of the European Corn Borer (ECB). The current and previous studies suggest that most of the benefits manifest themselves rather on farms under high ECB pressure. Seen from an economic viewpoint, the cultivation of Bt maize could be recommended in areas with persistent high corn borer pressure. However, the benefit to the environment is challenged and it is suggested that farmers should employ a complex of cultural control methods.
The ability to accurately assess the intelligence of other persons finds its place in everyday social interaction and should have important evolutionary consequences.
We used static facial ...photographs of 40 men and 40 women to test the relationship between measured IQ, perceived intelligence, and facial shape. Both men and women were able to accurately evaluate the intelligence of men by viewing facial photographs. In addition to general intelligence, figural and fluid intelligence showed a significant relationship with perceived intelligence, but again, only in men. No relationship between perceived intelligence and IQ was found for women. We used geometric morphometrics to determine which facial traits are associated with the perception of intelligence, as well as with intelligence as measured by IQ testing. Faces that are perceived as highly intelligent are rather prolonged with a broader distance between the eyes, a larger nose, a slight upturn to the corners of the mouth, and a sharper, pointing, less rounded chin. By contrast, the perception of lower intelligence is associated with broader, more rounded faces with eyes closer to each other, a shorter nose, declining corners of the mouth, and a rounded and massive chin. By contrast, we found no correlation between morphological traits and real intelligence measured with IQ test, either in men or women.
These results suggest that a perceiver can accurately gauge the real intelligence of men, but not women, by viewing their faces in photographs; however, this estimation is possibly not based on facial shape. Our study revealed no relation between intelligence and either attractiveness or face shape.
Farmers around the world struggle with impacts of climate change such as drought. However, their motivations to implement green and blue infrastructure (GBI) as adaptation measures have gained little ...attention.
In-depth interviews with 21 farmers from areas both inside and outside areas of natural constraints in the Czech Republic were carried out and analysed according to the grounded theory approach of Strauss and Corbin. The aim of this qualitative, exploratory study was to understand the unique motivation dynamics, that is, how the motivation of the farmers to create GBI and other measures on agricultural land starts, develops, changes over time, and is maintained or diminishes.
We have categorised farmers on the basis of the degree of implemented GBI, their motivation to implement GBI, and other characteristics into three types: fulfilled farmers, farmers struggling with barriers, and frustrated farmers. The components that affect the motivation are presented in a qualitative model. The data suggests that a combination of the vision of the farm, financial security of a business, the farmer's personality traits, and the fulfilment of his or her basic psychological needs is a prerequisite for the motivation to implement GBI, as is sufficient knowledge about the benefits of GBI. Future policies may benefit from acknowledging differences in motivation dynamics among farmers, the level of their frustration, and their needs.
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•We explored Czech farmers' motivation to create green and blue infrastructure (GBI).•The main prerequisites for the motivation to implement GBI are:•The business's financial security, farmers' personality traits and knowledge of GBI.•The vision of the farm and the fulfilment of farmers' basic psychological needs.•Policy makers should acknowledge differences in motivation dynamics among farmers.
Toxoplasma, a protozoan parasite of cats, infects many species of intermediate and paratenic hosts, including about one-third of humans worldwide. After a short phase of acute infection, the tissue ...cysts containing slowly dividing bradyzoites are formed in various organs and toxoplasmosis proceeds spontaneously in its latent form. In immunocompetent subjects, latent toxoplasmosis was considered asymptomatic. However, dozens of studies performed on animals and humans in the past twenty years have shown that it is accompanied by a broad spectrum of specific behavioural, physiological and even morphological changes. In human hosts, the changes often go in the opposite direction in men and women, and are mostly weaker or non-existent in Rh-positive subjects.
Here, we searched for the indices of lower endurance of the infected subjects by examining the performance of nearly five hundred university students tested for toxoplasmosis and Rh phenotype in two tests, a weight holding test and a grip test.
The results confirmed the existence of a negative association of latent toxoplasmosis with the performance of students, especially Rh-negative men, in these tests. Surprisingly, but in an accordance with some already published data, Toxoplasma-infected, Rh-positive subjects expressed a higher, rather than lower, performance in our endurance tests.
Therefore, the results only partly support the hypothesis for the lower endurance of Toxoplasma infected subjects as the performance of Rh-positive subjects (representing majority of population) correlated positively with the Toxoplasma infection.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the herpetic virus, which infects 45-100% people worldwide. Many reports suggest that CMV could impair cognitive functions of infected subjects. Here we searched for indices ...of effects of CMV on infected subjects' intelligence and knowledge. The Intelligence Structure Test I-S-T 2000 R was used to compare IQ of 148 CMV-infected and 135 CMV-free university students. Infected students expressed higher intelligence. Paradoxically, their IQ decreased with decreasing concentration of anti-CMV antibodies, which can be used, statistically, as a proxy of the time passed from the moment of infection in young subjects when the age of subjects is statistically controlled. The paradox of seemingly higher intelligence of CMV infected subjects could be explained by the presence of the subpopulation of about 5-10% CMV-positive individuals in the population of "CMV-negative students". These false negative subjects had probably not only the oldest infections and therefore the lowest concentration of anamnestic antibodies, but also the lowest intelligence among the infected students. Prevalence of CMV infection in all countries is very high, approaching sometimes 90%. Therefore, the total impact of CMV on human intelligence may be large.
One-third of humanity harbors a lifelong infection with
, and probably about 80% are infected with human cytomegalovirus (CMV). This study aims to delineate the associations between toxoplasmosis and ...cognitive abilities and compare these to the associations with CMV. We evaluated the cognitive performance of 557 students, who had been examined for
and CMV infections, using intelligence, memory, and psychomotor tests. The results indicated cognitive impairments in seropositive individuals for both pathogens, with variations in cognitive impact related to sex and the Rh factor. Specifically,
infection was associated with lower IQ in men, whereas CMV was predominantly associated with worse performance by women when testing memory and reaction speeds. Analysis of the antibody concentrations indicated that certain
-associated cognitive detrimental effects may wane (impaired intelligence) or worsen (impaired reaction times) over time following infection. The findings imply that the cognitive impairments caused by both neurotropic pathogens are likely due to pathological changes in the brain rather than from direct manipulative action by the parasites.
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