As described on our landing page and project description page the Dutch nitrogen crisis is a complicated problem, with various needs opposing each other (environmental, economical and food-security) and different actors who have very different interests. Finding a fitting solution to the Dutch nitrogen crisis is therefore no easy task, considering that not only does the problem consist of multiple facets, but also the people affected by the problem and possible solutions consist of multiple diverse groups.

It is therefore important that anyone, including us, who is trying to contribute to a solution to this problem, studies the problem and the affected groups in both deepening and broadening research. Especially for (starting) scientists it is important that they step out of the 'ivory tower', and look at the problem they are tackling from outside the lab: it is important that they actively engage with how and IF their solution would work in 'the real world', outside the lab. Only then can a solution be developed that actually addresses the problem; that is actually wanted by and feasible for the people involved in the problem and the solution; and that is responsible, good and safe for use outside the lab.

Throughout the iGEM season, our team has therefore actively engaged in exploring both the problem, and the actors involved in the problem and possible solutions. We have looked at various ethical, economic, environmental, safety and sustainability aspects of our project: not only by consulting literature, but also by actively engaging with people in the field. In addition, over the span of several months, we completed an extensive brainstorming tool to gain more insight into the needs and problems, safety, future, stakeholders and alternatives for our project. Moreover, to ensure the safety of our project even further, we have included several Safe-by-Design principles in our project. Moreover, we created templates that future iGEM teams can use in their Human Practices work to responsibly engage with stakeholders and be more environmentally friendly in the lab. And lastly, we have collaborated with other iGEM teams on their Human Practices work. All to ensure that BYE-MONIA is responsible, good and safe for everyone.

On this Human Practices page, we talk about all the different things we did to research whether BYE-MONIA is responsible, safe and good for the world. On our Integrated Human Practices page, we talk about how we then used this information to adjust our project so that BYE-MONIA is actually responsible, safe and good for the world. All leading to us proposing to use BYE-MONIA as described on our implementation page.