International food politics: UK food industry wants more regulation!
In a move that surprises British commentators, the U.K.’s The Food and Drink Federation is calling for more government regulation.
This call is based on a report commissioned by the Federation, Future Scenarios for the UK Food and Drink Industry, which summarizes interviews with food manufacturers, policy makers, civil society representatives, farmers, and retailers, about their visions for the future of the industry.
While the most desirable future was one where sufficient resources were available and consumer behaviours had responded to global pressures, manufacturers and retailers surprisingly preferred a situation where more government intervention was necessary.
What’s going on here? “It’s about putting in place the right structures and frameworks that give industry the kind of coherence to make investment decisions.”
However, all participants recognised that resource demand would most likely outstrip supply unless action was taken. Even more disastrous would be the scenario where there was insufficient government control and a lack of engagement by people; a severe supply-demand gap, resulting in social unrest.
Oh. Investment decisions. And preventing social unrest, of course.
The report concludes that “there is a need for a shared vision for the future of the UK’s food industry based on strong evidence, consistent regulation and consumer engagement.”
Consistent regulation? This from an industry that successfully lobbied for removing regulatory power from the Food Standards Agency?
As in the U.S., the British food industry wants regulations when they protect industry interests, but strongly opposes those that favor consumer interests.
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Long Beach, CA: Childhood Obesity Conference
This will be the closing keynote to the 7th Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference, sponsored by the California Department of Public Health, UC Berkeley, the Atkins Center for Weight and Health, the California Department of Education, Kaiser Permanente, and the California Endowment.
It’s at about 11:30 a.m. in the Long Beach Convention Center.
Comments
I’m not sure what the basis is of various comments you make. UK industry has not lobbied against the FSA; indeed industry and other stakeholders are very supportive of it. FSA is independent of UK Government and does not have the power to regulate, that power being with Government departments.
I would say that in any case targeted enforcement is of more practical importance than regulation since any law is worthless if it is not enforced. This need for targeted enforcement has unfortunately been repeatedly demonstrated by events in the US food supply chain in particular. The US marketplace is far less dominated by major retail chains than the UK’s. The major UK retailers make great technical demands on their supply bases, largely because of their own brand dominance and the need to protect reputation. This market structure is not replicated elsewhere worldwide.
Bring on the enforcement. Internationally.
This article raises two strong points:
(1) Government intervention is not necessarily contrary to business interests- stability in the future is critical for good planning.
(2) Government regulation can often boost the consumer perception of an industry. Early on, when GM products were first introduced, firms wanted government inspection (although not too much) to help assure customers their products were safe.
This is a great reminder that issues are rarely one-sided!
[...] Translated from Marion’s Nestle blog Food Politics, straight from this source here [...]
[...] Sur son blog, Marion Nestlé (rien avoir avec le groupe alimentaire) a écrit un article intitulé « L’industrie alimentaire au Royaume-Uni veut plus de réglementation ! » (International food politics: UK food industry wants more regulation!). [...]