Computational Social Science Researcher and Software Engineer
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
What's with the EU's Protected Designation of Origin licensing? Did folks seriously expect anything labeled "feta" to actually come from Greek pastures?
But consider what a reasonable person expects. The label says "Feta," not "Made in Greece". It does not even have the name of the place in it, unlike Cheddar cheese or Virginia ham.
And I have read the PDOI entry in Wikipedia ... that's why I wrote this note in the first place.
Look, it's one thing to make claims that a product was made in a particular place. No one is making that claim for feta. I seriously doubt anyone even expects a store-bought pack of feta to have been made in Greece. Even with products named after places, some of them are sufficiently genericized and globalized that it becomes pointlessly stifling to regulate them so. What if the US government mandated that Philly Cheesesteaks had to be imported from Philadelphia, for instance?
Mmmh, consumers like to buy the original one, made with ancestral savoir-faire, and with the appropriate ingredients. Quality and originality are often more expansive but you are sure you cannot be disappointed.
Well, actually this represents a good quality insurance. You are sure to get the original one and not an ersatz... ;-)
ReplyDeleteit's a voters' wooing thing. Appeal to national pride and rural constituents. Oh, and prevent cheaper imports or foreign copies to ride on the claim.
ReplyDeleteBut consider what a reasonable person expects. The label says "Feta," not "Made in Greece". It does not even have the name of the place in it, unlike Cheddar cheese or Virginia ham.
ReplyDeleteOh, but in the case of feta, it is a real greek name of cheese :) Same as gorgonzola or roquefort :)
ReplyDeleteHave a look at this link Sohan : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_designation_of_origin
:)
Not quite. It was borrowed from Italian. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feta
ReplyDeleteAnd I have read the PDOI entry in Wikipedia ... that's why I wrote this note in the first place.
Look, it's one thing to make claims that a product was made in a particular place. No one is making that claim for feta. I seriously doubt anyone even expects a store-bought pack of feta to have been made in Greece. Even with products named after places, some of them are sufficiently genericized and globalized that it becomes pointlessly stifling to regulate them so. What if the US government mandated that Philly Cheesesteaks had to be imported from Philadelphia, for instance?
Mmmh, consumers like to buy the original one, made with ancestral savoir-faire, and with the appropriate ingredients. Quality and originality are often more expansive but you are sure you cannot be disappointed.
ReplyDelete