Wathing an interview on BBC a few nights ago, I was rivetted to my chair as shadow environment secretary, Nick Herbert, outlined the Conservative Party's "Honest Food" campaign, a strategy they say, that will ensure that British consumers can be confident of where their meat actually comes from. Holding small containers emblazoned with images of Thomas the Train Engine or the Union Flag, Mr Herbert went on to deplore the fact that, unless one was extremely studious, one would never realize that the meat content of these packages actually derived from Brazil or other foreign nations. When confronted with the question whether this was not just another campaign for protectionism, Mr Herbert denied that the Conservative Party were against allowing the sale of meat from other nations but that these foods should be properly labeled to allow the consumer the choice.
What we have here is yet further proof of the "Information Age" in which we live.
In a study undertaken by the Judge Business School at Cambridge University which has become known as The Informed Patient, researchers sought to expound on the contentious issue of the direct provision of (medical) information to the public by industry. The outcome of this study?
The major conclusion from The Informed Patient study is the conviction that the future of healthcare in Europe demands far greater health-related information for patients and citizens. The information and knowledge support must be available at the level of the EU/member states and also at regional/local levels to assure sufficient education and support.
In scanning the internet however, and seeing how many "self diagnostic" websites exist, I must wonder just how advantageous it is effectively to remove the role of the physician and potentially create a niche for untrained, self-proclaimed experts?
And where is the balance between taking responsibility for ones own well being through exercising self control and common sense, and complete Orwellian living?
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