Synopses & Reviews
Major questions surround who, how, and by what means should the interests of government, the private sector, or consumers hold authority and powers over decisions concerning the production and consumption of foods. This book examines the development of food policy and regulation following the BSE (mad cow disease) crisis of the late 1990s, and traces the changing relationships between three key sets of actors: private interests, such as the corporate retailers; public regulators, such as the EU directorates and UK agencies; and consumer groups at EU and national levels. The authors explore how these interests deal with the conundrum of continuing to stimulate a corporately organised and increasingly globalised food system at the same time as creating a public and consumer-based legitimate framework for it. The analysis develops a new model and synthesis of food policy and regulation which reassesses these public/private sector responsibilities with new evidence and theoretical insights.
Synopsis
The volume documents the development of food policy and regulation following the BSE (mad cow disease) crisis of the late 1990s. It provides a contemporary and (social science-based) interdisciplinary analysis of the new processes involved in the contested regulation and accountability for food in the EU. The book brings together a theoretical and empirical analysis and a new governance model of the 'post-BSE period' and assesses the changing nature of three sets of actors: private interests: such as the corporate retailers; public regulators such as the EU directorates (DG SANCO), Agriculture and Trade, as well as Member State actors such as DEFRA and the FSA; and the Consumer groups at EU and national levels. The analysis produces a new model and a new synthesis on food policy and regulation.