Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-11-Speech-3-216"
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"en.20061011.19.3-216"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, Mrs Jeggle, ladies and gentlemen, the Jeggle report contains many aspects necessary and urgent in order to take forward animal protection throughout Europe. We in the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe give priority to all tests aiming to promote informed purchasing decisions by consumers. After all, in free-market consumer societies, the consumer is king. He or she decides whether our chickens lie on straw bedding or are chained to iron bars before they disappear down our throats as Chicken McNuggets; whether our pigs are pumped full of medicines to enable them to survive the torments of their short lives; or whether stray cats and dogs are skinned to make stylish trimmings for winter coats.
Consumers have the power to determine whether to boost and support those farmers in Europe to whom animal protection, keeping animals in conditions appropriate to their species and healthy foodstuffs are important, or whether to force our farmers to participate in global dumping, with rock-bottom standards and prices. I am convinced that the majority of well-informed, enlightened consumers would never buy a product that had suffered agonising torment before ending up on the shelves. Human beings have a tendency to bury their heads in the sand. They prefer not to admit the reality of such sad things as animal suffering when they put a joint in the oven.
It is our political duty to ensure that consumers are informed about the real conditions of production. We politicians must spread our knowledge. The power of advice on packaging is demonstrated by the warnings on cigarette packs. The Jeggle report calls for a labelling programme to resolve the difficulties consumers have in recognising products that have taken particular account of animal protection. I would make an appeal for us to be courageous in this regard. The consumer should also be able to tell what has been produced at the cost of appalling animal suffering. In this case, the consumer would certainly not reach for the cheap goods, but opt for a somewhat dearer product that would show his credentials as a animal lover. We Europeans are much too defensive in this respect.
Let us not be intimidated by cheap competition from third countries: we cannot possibly produce as cheaply as they do in any case. Let us put our trust in the ever growing community of consumers who make conscious decisions when choosing what to buy and opt for products that guarantee animals are treated with respect."@en1
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