Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-05-Speech-2-051"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.19991005.3.2-051"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr Chairman, Mr President, Commissioner Prodi, ladies and gentlemen, the food crises and, most recently, the dioxin crisis have released a wave of uncertainty, yes even of anxiety, throughout Europe. How safe is our food? Who can guarantee its safety? Who keeps watch over these matters? The internal market has removed frontiers and border controls, and we are proud of this and happy about it. Free trade. A Europe of citizens. Europe must now, therefore, also guarantee food safety. That is what the people at home are saying to us, and that is what we are concerning ourselves with in the field of consumer protection. I would remind you of the Directive concerning Product Liability of a few months ago which inflamed passions in this very Chamber. The crisis about dioxin in eggs and meat shows that directives and orders alone are not enough. At home, ordinary people are already saying to us: trust is all well and good, but proper supervision is better. Europe must accept its responsibility; that is to say, we certainly first need crystal-clear definitions so that we can say that one thing is healthy and the other unhealthy, one thing harmful and the other harmless. We need clear, uniform, Europe-wide standards, Mr President of the Commission. For us in Germany, sewage sludge is waste and does not, under any circumstances, belong in feedingstuffs.
Feedingstuffs are to be found at the beginning of the food chain, and they must be as safe as the food itself. Healthy animal feed means healthy animals, and healthy animals go on, logically enough, to produce healthy meat. That is the farmers' capital. Farmers must be able to rely upon manufacturers of feedingstuffs. Farmers themselves cannot check up on what feedingstuffs contain. Above all, they cannot know whether they contain substances they ought not to contain, for there are no labels specifying these substances. Manufacturers of feedingstuffs are liable for their products and they must also be liable for losses caused to farmers. What has happened here is not permitted under any order in connection with feedingstuffs. That means that the consumer has been deceived.
Commission President Prodi, we are reducing cereal production in Europe in order to avoid over-capacity. To save money, unhealthy substances are being mixed in with animal feed in order make it go further. That can no longer be conveyed to anyone. The trouble is certainly to be found in the low prices. If, for example, farmers are only able to earn EUR 1.25 per kilo of pork, then everyone wonders how the production costs can be covered. So feedingstuffs have to be cheap. The issue then comes full circle with consumers asking the question: are we also prepared to pay more for foodstuffs? Food must also have its value. We must be prepared to pay more for it.
Education and the provision of information can contribute to improving and enhancing citizens’ relationship with the foodstuffs they eat. But responsibility for food safety comes first, and only then can confidence increase."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples