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What has become obvious to us has sown doubts, misunderstandings and anxiety in others, write the leading representatives of the alliance in Skåne.
Patients can be assured today and in the future that the meat served by the Skåne Region complies with one of the strictest animal welfare laws in the world, namely the Swedish, write the article’s authors.
This is a discussion post. Writers are responsible for opinions.
The Skåne Regional Board recently decided to define local production as “food that originates and is processed in the following regions: Skåne region, Jönköping county region, Kronoberg region, Kalmar county region, Blekinge region, from Östergötland, Halland region, Västra Götaland region and all of Denmark “.
Let’s go now propose to the regional board that the definition of local production be revoked, that is, that it be eliminated. We will also invite industrial organizations in the food industry for an in-depth discussion ahead of the new environmental program that the Skåne Region will adopt in spring 2021.
We will also contact SKR, the Swedish municipalities and regions, to point out that there should be a guide on what should be counted as “locally produced”. The question is not just a question for Skåne.
What has been obvious to us has sown doubts, misunderstandings and anguish in others. Some have feared that the Skåne Region will buy meat from animals that are in worse condition than, for example, pigs raised under Swedish animal welfare laws. It has never been the case.
The fact that the Skåne Region has not previously defined what is meant by local production has been a problem for a long time. In November 2016, the Regional Council implemented an environmental program for 2017-2020. All parties agreed that the Skåne Region should have an environmental target that the share of organic and / or locally produced food amounts to at least 70 percent of the total food budget by 2020. The environmental target says that priority should be given to locally produced food.
As “local production” has not been defined, it has been impossible to measure whether the region has achieved that part of the environmental goal. For what has been defined as organic food, it has also been possible to measure.
Those who buy various products for the region have been left in the lurch. On the one hand, they have a requirement that 70 percent of purchases be organic or locally produced. On the other hand, they cannot obtain information on what goods are counted as locally produced.
There is nothing I doubt that the Skåne Region needs a definition of what should be counted as “locally produced”. Such a device must also be available to be able to measure the relationship between organic and locally produced food. Today, the region can buy a large amount of organic food from all corners of the world and allow it to reach the goal of at least 70 percent of the region’s total food budget. We don’t think it’s a good order. It should be possible to see how much of the total food budget the Skåne Region buys from, for example, Scanian farmers.
The purpose of defining what Region Skåne should consider to be locally produced is to ensure that the Skåne Region meets its own environmental goals.
Region Skåne’s purchasing rules are very clear: all food purchased by Region Skåne must comply with Swedish law. This means, for example, that Swedish plant and animal protection laws must be applied and that the use of antibiotics must not take place for preventive purposes. Therefore, patients can already today, and will continue to do so, rest assured that the meat served by the region complies with one of the strictest animal welfare laws in the world, the Swedish one.
We underestimate the symbolic value of including Denmark in the definition of local production recently adopted by the regional board. And if the symbolic value now obscures what we are trying to achieve, that the Skåne Region must have a definition that makes it possible to measure how well the region meets the goal of prioritizing local production, then it is unwise of us to persevere.
Obviously, we have not been able to explain what the decision really means. That responsibility falls on us. Therefore, we now withdraw our proposal on how the Skåne Region should define local production.
Carl Johan Sonesson (M), Chairman of the Regional Board of the Skåne Region
GRAMilbert Tribo (left), leader of the group of Liberals in the Skåne region
Annette Linander (C), group leader of the Center Party in the Skåne Region
By Einarsson (KD), group leader of the Christian Democrats in the Skåne Region
