First generation GE crops focused on two major traits in a few major crops, whereas, second- and third-generation GE crops rely on more sophisticated and precise transformational technologies in a wider variety of crop traits that may have broader social benefits, and involve more public-private partnerships in research and development. This chapter highlights findings from GE impact assessments, and also highlights the limitations of existing impact assessments, calling attention to how the benefits of GE crops has been conceptualized too narrowly. Impact assessments need to take social context of farmers, rural communities, and the broader agriculture and food sector more seriously. Future GE crop impact assessments would benefit from a shift to a responsible-innovation framework which focuses on anticipation of outcomes, reflexivity, inclusion of expert and lay perspectives, and institutional and policy-maker responsiveness to feedback over time. Impact assessments that incorporate responsible innovation could lead to effective regulations and informed course corrections to ensure that risks and benefits from new technologies might be more equitable and sustainable than they currently are.
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