Sir
I was challenged by your perspective on the attacks that the "big food" sector is under regarding consumers' health, with the sector pitched as the obvious culprit for growing obesity (Food Manufacture May 2006, p3).
Leaving aside the obvious - that obesity is multifactorial (heredity and various aspects of life style) - blaming food producers is a cop-out for individuals who are responsible for their food choices and, more importantly, for parents who are responsible for educating their children in these matters. It is also interesting to note the parallels with other sectors held responsible for society's ills.
Having recently left agri-food, it is easy for me to draw a parallel with the sector I am now closer to - pharmaceuticals. "Big pharma" is under constant attack for providing new drugs at excessive costs. Many people, opportunistic journalists, and indeed some governments, conveniently forget that these drugs save lives, improve the quality of life and, in the long term, often economise on hospital costs.
This is not to say that the big companies are without fault, but let's not lose sight of the ball. In France, rising fuel prices triggered an attack on the biggest oil company when it posted record profits. Companies in both these sectors make considerable and risky investments for research/exploration. They should be justly rewarded, as long as they play by the rules: treating customers, employees and shareholders fairly; allowing fair competition; and paying heed to the environment and ethics.
Stéphane Hogan
Unit of Biotechnology and Applied Genomics
European Commission