Empowering the Citizen-Consumer: Re-Regulating Consumer Information to Support the Transition to Sustainable and Health Promoting Food Systems in Canada

Abstract

Both health and sustainability are stated public policy objectives in Canada, but food information rules and practices may not be optimal to support their achievement. In the absence of a stated consensus on the purposes of public information about food, the information provided is frequently determined by the marketers of product. No institution or agency has responsibility for determining the overall coherence of consumer food messages relative to these broader social goals of health and sustainability. Individual firms provide information that shows their products to best advantage, which may contradict what is provided about the product by another firm or government agency. Individual consumers do not have the resources to determine easily the completeness of any firm's messages, particularly in light of the size of food industry advertising budgets. Government rules confound this problem because there is also little coherence between the parts of government that have responsibility for point of purchase, advertising rules, and labelling. The healthy eating messages of health departments are often competing with contradictory messages permitted by the regulatory framework of other arms of government. Investments in programs that successfully promote environmental stewardship in agriculture are undercut in the market because consumers cannot support OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2011, 4 2147 those efforts with their dollars. This problem exists despite the emergence of "citizen-consumers" who have a broader approach to food purchasing than individual maximization. Only recently have some health professionals and sustainable agriculture proponents turned their attention to these factors and designed interventions that take them into account. In this paper, which builds upon earlier work by MacRae [1], we outline key short, medium and long term initiatives to facilitate the citizen-consumer phenomenon and better support consumers in their efforts to promote health and sustainability in the Canadian food system.

Making Sense of Sustainability: A Practice Theories Approach to Buying Food

“…To achieve this aim, a crucial element is how to advance access to sustainable food in order to make buying sustainable food more feasible. Some scholars argue that improved information provision about the sustainability of food will enhance access (see e.g., [3]). Behind this approach lies the assumption of a conscious consumer who makes rational decisions based on information and price.…”

Comunicação na promoção da alimentação saudável via rótulos: uma análise dos discursos

“…O risco de não saber exatamente o que e como informar é que, quando não existe consenso sobre isso, a tendência é que o setor privado assuma a liderança na comunicação, por meio do marketing (MACRAE et al, 2012).…”

“…Consumidores sozinhos não possuem os recursos necessários para determinar com facilidade o conjunto de mensagens emitidas por uma empresa, considerando-se a dimensão dos orçamentos de publicidade da indústria. (MACRAE et al, 2012). MACRAE et al (2012) acreditam que consumidores bem informados e engajados podem ser peças-chave na promoção de um sistema alimentar saudável e sustentável.…”

“…MACRAE et al (2012) acreditam que consumidores bem informados e engajados podem ser peças-chave na promoção de um sistema alimentar saudável e sustentável. Os autores se referem a um "movimento crescente de consumidorescidadãos, comedores que trazem para suas compras um conjunto de valores e decisões alimentares que ultrapassam os interesses individuais" (MACRAE et al, 2012). A partir dessa premissa, os autores propõem que se adotem iniciativas de curto, médio e longo prazos que deem suporte a esse engajamento e facilitem os esforços desse consumidor-cidadão.…”

“…O desafio é redesenhar os sistemas de informação ao consumidor a fim de que eles ajudem os governos a alcançar seus objetivos nutricionais, de saúde e ambientais para a população. Dadas as transformações que reduzem a autoridade do Estado sobre o sistema alimentar, os mecanismos limitados de governança e o uso reduzido de medidas efetivas, as abordagens limitadas do passado devem ser modificadas (MACRAE et al, 2012).…”