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.

Contents

Preface. Methodological Note. Section 1: Exploring the Anatomy of the Food Crisis 1. The Anatomy of the Food Crisis: Regulating the Risk of Geographies of Agri-Food in the 21st Century 2. Handling Biosecurity Risk: The Foot and Mouth Outbreak 2001 3. Genetic Disorders: Resistance, Regulation and GM Food and Feed Section 2: The Evolving Hybrid Model 4. State Failures and Failures of the State 5. A New Regulatory Terrain: The Emerging Public/Private Model in Europe 6. Building Relationships in a New Phase of Contested Accountability in the UK: Incorporating the New Public-Private Model of Food Regulation Section 3: Operating the Hybrid Model: Case Studies of Regulatory Supply Chains 7. The Cutting Edge of Retail Grocery Competition: The Case of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chain 8. The Operation of the Hybrid Model: The Case of Red Meat Section 4: Key Contemporary Dynamics of Regulation 9. The New Institutional Fabric: The Public Management of Food Risks 10. Food risk and Pn: The Precautionary Principle in Practice 11. From Europeanisation to Globalisation of the Public-Private Model of Food Regulation 12. Conclusions

Author Bio

Terry Marsden, Robert Lee, Andrew Flynn and Samarthia Thankappan are all affiliated with the ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society at Cardiff University.