ACTION ALERT: Consumer Right to Know (Food Information) Bill
Go to Sue's Press Release on this subject. Go to the Consumer's Right to Know (Food Information) BillMy Bill, the Consumer's Right to Know (Food Information) Bill, has been selected from the parliamentary ballot box and will commence its first reading in Parliament on June 28th 2006.
It will enshrine in law for the first time in New Zealand the concept that consumers have a right to know what is in their food and where it comes from. I hope you will support it by writing, emailing or telephoning your local MP to tell them that you strongly support this bill and hope they will support it going to Select Committee (below is a sample letter).
Why this bill is so important:
If consumers are to make informed food purchasing choices they need as much information as possible about what is in the food they eat and where it comes from.
Unfortunately, in New Zealand our labels aren't required to tell us whether food contains genetically modified ingredients or where it comes from. Nor are they are required to tell us whether eggs come from hens that have been cruelly caged. We think this is vital information that consumers are entitled to.
In other countries consumers already have access to this information. For example in Europe foods derived from genetic modification have to be labelled - but not so here in New Zealand. Our GE labelling laws are so weak that the vast majority of GE ingredients in food don't have to be declared on a label, which is why you can hardly find any food that is labelled as containing GE material, even though many food products may contain GE ingredients. My bill calls for mandatory labelling of all GE derived ingredients.
In Europe, USA, Canada and Australia most foods have to say where they come from. In the European Union beef, fruit and vegetables, fish, olive oil, eggs, poultry meat and honey all have to be labelled as to their country of origin. In the USA, country of origin labelling is mandatory for all imported foods. In Australia, packaged foods, fish, pork, fresh fruit and vegetables must identify where they come from. My bill calls for mandatory country of origin labelling of all processed foods and all imported unprocessed fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.
Eggs produced by hens confined to battery cages must be labelled in Europe.
My bill calls for mandatory labelling of eggs, to identify whether they come from battery cages, and fish to identify if they are farmed.
At present a lot of important information about what is in our food and where it comes from is hidden from New Zealand consumers. The Consumer's Right To Know (Food Information) Bill will give New Zealand consumers access to information that overseas consumers already get.
The bill provides for:
- full labelling of all genetically modified food: this means that all foods containing ingredients derived from genetic engineering technology would be labelled, whereas currently only foods with detectable levels of GE DNA or protein left after processing have to be labelled --- and as a result hardly any GM foods are.
- labelling of animal feed derived from genetic engineering to help farmers avoid GE material.
- new traceability regulations for GE material in the food chain so that it can be traced from farm to supermarket, and then properly labelled.
- a lowered threshold for inadvertent contamination of food with GE material from 1% to 0.5%
- mandatory country of origin labelling for all processed foods and all imported unprocessed foods such as fish, meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds
- labelling for method of production of eggs (i.e. from free-range, barn produced or caged hens) and seafood (wild-caught or farmed)
- the government to make publicly available all data that it collects or requires to be collected on residues and contaminants in food - including pesticides, heavy metals, industrial chemicals or by-products and veterinary medicines.
Read the Consumer's Right to Know (Food Information) Bill.
We believe the right to know about our food, and about what chemicals we are exposed to, is fundamentally important in a democratic society, so we are launching a Consumer's Right to Know Campaign to support the introduction of the Bill into parliament. The Campaign will encourage consumers to contact their MP's and urge them to support this Bill.
Watch out for the Right to Know Campaign and how you can help get this important piece of legislation passed into law.
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Sample letter
Dear MP
I am writing in support of Sue Kedgley's Private Members Bill -- the Consumer Right to Know (Food Information) Bill.
As a consumer I want the right to know what is in the food that I buy and where it has come from. It is impossible to know if I am supporting local growers or not.
I want our food labelling regulations to reflect what consumers want.
I am especially concerned regarding GE ingredients in my food. I believe that GE foods have not been proven to be safe, therefore I want the right to know whether I am consuming them or not.
At present the absence of any requirement to label GE derived ingredients in food means it is almost impossible for a consumer to work out which foods contain GE ingredients and to avoid them if they wish.
Similarly, without country of origin labelling consumers don't know if their tomatoes or ham or other products have come from the other side of the world or from New Zealand. Many consumers are confused by egg labelling and can't work out which eggs come from battery cages. The present labelling system is misleading — who would think that eggs labelled 'Farm Fresh' are from battery hen cages?
European countries already have labelling regulations of the sort that this Bill is suggesting; in Europe and Canada most foods have to say where they come from. In the USA country of origin labelling is mandatory on imported food. In Australia, packaged foods, fish, pork, fresh fruit and vegetables must identify where they came from. In Europe foods derived from genetic modification must be declared on a label, and eggs produced by hens confined to battery cages must be labelled — why are we so far behind on such important issues?
Please support this bill through to Select Committee.
Yours Sincerely