Jan 7, 2011 New form of public involvement in French grapevine
project Genetic engineering experiment: From information to
interaction The Institut National de Recherche Agronomique in
Alsace has been trialling a new form of public involvement over
recent years. A release experiment with genetically modified
grapevines was monitored for six years by a Local Monitoring
Committee, which helped develop the biosafety research
questions. The project ended in 2010 when the trial field was
destroyed. The final report appeared in the online journal
PLosBiology at the end of 2010. Fanleaf degeneration is a crop
disease with significant financial consequences for wine-
growers. One of the symptoms is spotty, yellow leaves. The INRA
in Colmar studied transgenic grapevines that are resistant to
this disease. In the past, methods of involving the public in
the introduction of new technologies have usually been
restricted to public information or public hearings. More recent
methods place a greater emphasis on the active in