Chvátalová, Veronika | Czech Republic

Fellow at IAS-STS: 2018/19

Veronika Chvátalová is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Environmental Studies at Masaryk University in Czech Republic (CZ). She graduated from Theoretical and Evolutionary Biology with a thesis combining biology and psychology methods (Influence of latent toxoplasmosis on intelligence of infected subjects) at Charles University in Prague, CZ.

Her current research focuses on genetically modified (GM) crops. The aim of her doctoral thesis is to map benefits and risks of GM maize cultivation for farmers and the environment in CZ by employing two complementary perspectives. The first viewpoint is the agricultural practice in CZ whereby assumptions and benefit claims bound to this crop are tested against farmers’ practice. The second vantage point is the science-policy interface in the governance of GM crops. Drawing on post-normal science approach scientific evidence which formed the basis for approval of this GM crop in the EU is explored.

Veronika gained experience in STS during a research stay at GenØk – Centre for Biosafety in Tromso, Norway and while participating in the Genetically modified plants Two Year Safety Testing project at IAS-STS in Graz.

Project at IAS-STS: Genetically modified Bt maize: from theory to praxis

The research project conducted at IAS-STS forms the final part of my doctoral thesis. The allegedly purely scientific risk assessment has been a fiercely debated topic in the regulation of GM crops in the EU for decades. I aim to illustrate and examine the inherent flexibility in how science is interpreted and used in regulatory decision making on GM crops. So far I have evaluated the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of GM maize performed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for quality of cited scientific evidence and its use by EFSA. In addition, I plan to explore the way how different experts on the ERA of GM crops construct what counts as a reliable scientific information and how are the same scientific results interpreted. The intention is to compare views and deliberative processes of scientists involved in the ERA of GM crops from two countries with a different approach and stance to GM crops, Czech Republic and Austria. To achieve this, semi-structured interviews with Czech and Austrian experts will be conducted. The insight to the deliberative processes will be used to pinpoint where and what values enter the seemingly purely scientific environmental risk assessment. In order to examine the entanglement of normative and scientific considerations critical realism and post-normal science approaches will be employed.

Selected Publications

Chvátalová, V. (2017) “Science for policy: assessing genetically modified crops in the EU” Conference Proceedings of the STS Conference Graz 2017 on “Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies”

Kleisner, K., Chvátalová, V. and Flegr, J. (2014) "Perceived intelligence is associated with measured intelligence in men but not women" PLoS ONE 9(3): e81237. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081237