Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-06-12-Speech-2-033"

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"Mr President, it is gratifying to see that the media coverage of BSE and foot-and-mouth disease has been focusing chiefly on scientific findings and facts. The BSE situation in particular demonstrates how important it is to be able to depend on independent research into food resources, research that is geared to the long-term acquisition of knowledge. Highly complex though the proposal for the creation of a Food Authority may be, the thing it lacks most is a wealth of ideas. I am convinced that the selection of tasks for the new authority from the many sound proposals can only be made in accordance with the latest research findings from the national establishments. Current food legislation is undoubtedly complicated and will surely not improve if its refinement is entrusted to lawyers alone. For that reason, I believe that the necessary funds should be allocated to the budget on the basis of a scientific needs assessment. The proposal for the creation of a Food Authority already has a head start, because the bodies representing the farming community and the food industry accept the need for such an authority and support its creation, which undoubtedly augurs well for the future. Those who deal with livestock and the foodstuffs that are derived from them need a lobby which, in the context of the continuing globalisation of food markets, can make a convincing case for their products and, above all, can protect them from misguided policies. Satisfying the exacting demands that society makes of its food producers is crucial to their success or failure. The consumption of meat and meat products is rising slowly, and their prices are developing in line with production costs. Consumers require comprehensive information about the processing and the nutritional value of meat and meat products. I am one of those who believe there is still a great deal of work to be done here, for there are many who have relapsed into a blinkered supply-and-demand view of food policy and are unable to look beyond the shop counter. Meat will play a major role in the months and years ahead – and rightly so, in my opinion. The traditional planning of menus from a shopping basket of fruit, vegetables and meat provides a far greater volume of healthy nutrients than ready-made convenience foods. But what is a fair price for healthy food? Two thousand years ago, Hippocrates said that food should be our medicine and medicine our food. I believe his precept holds good today, and I would answer my question by citing the need for prices to reflect quality. Issues of ecology and ethics play a part in the production of foodstuffs. The ecological and ethical principles that will underlie the work of the Food Authority must be precisely defined."@en1

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