Seminar - Ethical Information about Food

At a seminar in Stockholm on March 25th, 2004, the Nordic Council of Ministers opened a dialogue with consumers, trade, producers and organisations about ethical information about food. This seminar report gives an impression of the present stage of discussion about ethical labelling and other information about ethical questions in connection with production of food. The seminar was based on the report Ethical Labelling of Food, TemaNord 2003:527, prepared at the request of the Council of Ministers in a cross-sectorial cooperation between the food, agricultural and forestry, fisheries, environmental and consumer sectors. The seminar confirmed the conclusions and general recommendations in the report. The various interest groups at the seminar - consumers, organisations, production and trade as well as authorities - agreed that labelling is just one way of providing information. There are many other information channels, such as data bases on the Internet, the home pages of organisations and companies, brochures and not forgetting the media. Existing labels should be strengthened and developed, but at present it is more important to open up to development, information and debate about ethical conditions in the production and trade, rather than introducing new ethical labels. In this context the media have an important role to play. The participants noted that the majority of consumers have an attitude to ethics in the production of food, but few act in accordance with this attitude. Consumers expect that others, e.g. the retail trade, have taken a stance on ethical requirements, and that the products offered in the market respect a reasonable ethical standard. The results of the seminar show that no major breakthrough for ethical concerns in production and consumption can be expected in the short term, especially not at a time characterized by fierce price competition. The consumers' commitment to ethical conditions should, however, be used to stimulate progress and strengthen the competitive position of the companies that have already taken on a social responsibility.