Furthermore, in practice invocation of the precautionary principle focuses attention solely on the possibility of harm, often ignoring information about the dose to which people are exposed, avoiding consideration of benefits of the agent in question and whether safer substitutes are available, and giving greater weight to studies that appear to indicate a hazard, even when these studies may be of poorer quality.

FORBES: How Activism Distorts The Assessment Of Health Risks

This morning I had the good fortune to chair a small roundtable discussion on applying the precautionary principle in the context of large business projects such as those undertaken by the extractives industries and agriculture.

FORBES: Operationalizing the Precautionary Principle for Biodiversity

The precautionary principle, which calls for extra prudence in areas of scientific uncertainty, also applies.

ECONOMIST: How big science might fix climate change

The precautionary principle says the company should make informed decisions every step of the way.

FORBES: Operationalizing the Precautionary Principle for Biodiversity

Contamination of what is billed as science-based risk assessment by activist researchers and by the precautionary principle has become a pervasive problem.

FORBES: How Activism Distorts The Assessment Of Health Risks

The precautionary principle states that, if there is uncertainty regarding the effects of exposure to an agent, the burden of proof that exposure does not cause harm falls on those who utilize the agent.

FORBES: How Activism Distorts The Assessment Of Health Risks

Given the level of uncertainty and the political and ethical challenges mentioned above, the international community feels it is critical to uphold the precautionary principle.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES