I ett förslag till den internationella samarbetsfunktionen för konsumentorganisationer TACD, Trans Atlantiska KonsumentDialogen, framförde vi i går kravet på en helt annan hantering av stora frågor som denna. Det ingår i slutrevideringen av ett gemensamt dokument som ska offentliggöras i mars då TACD har sitt årliga möte, i år i Bryssel, där också representanter för EU-kommissionen och US Administration ingår. Dels föreslår vi att världens konsumentorganisationer får en större och viktigare roll i riskbedömningen och att denna inte enbart åvilar myndigheter och näringsliv eller forskningsintressena. Denna process ska genomgås innan någon ifrågasatt ny teknik får införas.

Här är vårt förslag:

Regarding Recommendations, point 5_

We want to add ”historic evidence and ethical concerns” to the often discussed questions of safety, in production and in consumption, precautionary principle and scientific evidence. Therefore we propose a sharpening up of point 5, as we have to take a step forward and not only ask for labelling, as usual

Original text:

“If cloned animals or their offspring are used for food production, TACD calls upon the E.U. and U.S. to establish mandatory labeling and traceability of such products. Such information should allow consumers to exercise their choice to eat or not eat food made from this technology”

Our proposal:

rior to taking use of any new technology, as e.g. involving and using cloned animals or their offspring in the food chain, a decision must be taken whether this is acceptable by the main stakeholders, the consumers. Consumers are the main stakeholder, buying, paying, eating and taking the commercial and health consequences and also responsibility for future generations and environmental conditions.
Research and production interests are to be considered as part interests and authorities are elected to safeguard the interest of the population, which they not always do.

It is therefore not sufficient to have a risk evaluation made by concerned authorities and/or representatives for research interests. The question "benefit to whom?"must be taken into consideration and if no evident benefit for consumers can be found but other reasons may be considered, at least representatives of consumers, i.e. their organisations, must have approved the use of such a new technology.

Anyhow if use of new questioned technology will be taken into use, TACD calls upon the E.U. and U.S. to establish mandatory labelling and traceability of such products , to give citizens/consumers the possibility to choose or not to choose to buy and eat food from this technology. This is a democratic right for everybody.

Many thanks for the brilliant job done already and I hope this work will have an important input and importance to the future development, taking consumers onboard.

Swedish Konsument-Forum

Bengt Ingerstam