The role of veterinarians in the farm-to-fork food chain and the underlying legal framework.

Abstract

While the metaphor 'farm to fork' is a simple way of describing the chain that starts with the animal and follows through to the food delivered to consumers, there is a danger it could convey the idea that it only covers the food chain. The author believes that the expression should be understood to refer to a broader field--which he calls the 'veterinary domain' - which includes all aspects of animal use and management and the goals of veterinary public health, which is itself defined. Within the veterinary domain, it is veterinarians who are the guarantors of animal health and protectors of animal resources, providing a vital component of food security and public safety. Historical and geographical references show that this role is vulnerable and must be protected to ensure its existence and quality, not only for the benefit of those involved, but above all for society as a whole. As the organisation of such protection involves granting monopolies, special attention must be paid to the conditions governing veterinary training and practice. Protection brings duties and requires control mechanisms, which are generally entrusted to veterinary statutory bodies. The entire mechanism must therefore be covered by specific legislation, which is now embodied in Article 3.4.6. of the TerrestrialAnimal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health. However, there is a danger of destroying a system, which has evolved over many years and has proven its worth, by an insistence on free-trade dogma that rejects the relationship between the health and veterinary professions.