Should food labelling be more important than legislation?

But first let’s look at the British farmers’ dilemma – they can now see the UK cabinet hopelessly split on what kind of trade deals are possible for a UK outside the EU. Britain is a hugely important food importer with self-sufficiency only at 60%. Any trade deal with the US or South America will involve food and agriculture.

The US line is that consumers should make up their own minds if they want to buy hormone-treated beef, clenbuterol-treated pigmeat or chlorinated chicken. Simply label the product accordingly and leave it up to the consumer at the shopping counter. The problem is that numerous studies by the big supermarket groupings show that the vast majority of their customers buy on price. The conditions that are imposed on farmers such as animal welfare checks and non-GM feedstuffs are all very well for a small well-off section of the population and can act as a marketing plank for supermarkets.

But the view that labelling, no matter how well intentional and enforced, will override price for the general shopper is nonsense.

The farmer argument then made to governments is that they have a duty to apply uniform standards of food safety across their populations – just as the EU insists on minimum safety or emissions standards for cars, whether imported or home produced, the same should apply to food imports.

Ironically, the Irish case may be different in some key markets. The case of Kerrygold in Germany or infant formula in China shows very clearly that there is a section of the population for whom price is not the key factor but bankable assurances of food safety and superior quality. We can underestimate the credibility that is building up around the Origin Green label.

Ireland is a small player in the global food market but it is increasingly being seen as producing a quality of product that carries real assurances with it.

The question now is whether stricter criteria should be laid down by Bord Bia before granting products an Origin Green designation.

Irish farmers have a lot to gain from having the quality of their output recognised and paid for.

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