Hydranockz
Member
I think that cheese and wine are tiers apart from all of those in the EU.
I mean, look at how you buy wines. It's very much a regional thing. Austrailian, Chilean, French, wherever.
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AP - Europe moves to limit cheese names in America
- Thread starter Ripclawe
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I think that cheese and wine are tiers apart from all of those in the EU.
I mean, look at how you buy wines. It's very much a regional thing. Austrailian, Chilean, French, wherever.
Yeah, it's a big problem if you want the very name of your region to sell your product.
But somehow New York survived the loss of their exclusive rights to the New York Strip, I bet if someone has a quality cheese to sell they can manage to sell it without suddenly taking all their similarly named competitors off the market.
Although I don't really know why they would care, if the EU remains a protected market...
That's really the crux of the argument, isn't it? I believe that's how you feel, but I can also say with confidence that few in America feel that way, at least with regard to cheese. I'm not a consumer of wine, so I'm admittedly poorly equipped to respond from that angle.
UnluckyKate
Member
Freedom chemically produce fermented milk, sort of
Hydranockz
Member
Yeah, I think that disconnect is the real thing here perhaps. Oh well. It ain't up to me to prove anything hah. I'll just be curious to see where (if anywhere) this even goes.
Shin Kojima
Banned
Americans can't even pronounce Gouda anyway (as the first reply demonstrates).
iamaustrian
Member
Afair(I did my final exam about hamburgers a long time ago) the first ground meat was produced accidently by the tartars. They put their meat under the saddle of their horses and after a long long journey the meat was squashed to "ground meat".
Palette Swap
Member
As a wine and cheese lover, I still find this utterly stupid and counterproductive.
As a consumer, I'll absolutely look for the geographical origin of these products and it matters to me but I don't give a single fuck what/how other people consume and certainly wouldn't presume to tell another country how they should label their shit. Way to make us all look like backwards, chauvinistic assholes, EU.
As a consumer, I'll absolutely look for the geographical origin of these products and it matters to me but I don't give a single fuck what/how other people consume and certainly wouldn't presume to tell another country how they should label their shit. Way to make us all look like backwards, chauvinistic assholes, EU.
Of course, we all say "coca" here too, but it doesn't mean it's used as a label by manufacturers. Nobody is going after what people want to call their products, just after names and marketting of particular artisanal food.
Should just rename it Goodah.
I know you're kidding, but here in Europe most manufacturers get around the whole naming problem by calling their products things like "Cheese of Parmesan variety" or "Feta-style cheese".
Napoleonthechimp
Member
I certainly do associate parmesan with Italy and Feta with Greece. Maybe people in the USA would feel differently if they actually had consumable food/beverages worthy of protecting.
There is a precedent so it is not as ridiculous as it sounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_designation_of_origin
There is a precedent so it is not as ridiculous as it sounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_designation_of_origin
"But I thought Kraft cheese was like craft beer!"
Dante Morgan
Banned
European here. Honestly, i think this whole thing is just really petty.
I can understand the EU wanting to protect its cultural heritage (read: wanting to make money) but these names have become so commonplace that changing them now would only cause lots of confusion.
This could all be solved by simply putting the word 'authentic' in the names of products that came from Europe, for example.
That way, American parmesan would still be parmesan, while parmesan that's actually from Parma could be distinguished by calling it authentic parmesan, or something to that effect. It's not rocket science.
I can understand the EU wanting to protect its cultural heritage (read: wanting to make money) but these names have become so commonplace that changing them now would only cause lots of confusion.
This could all be solved by simply putting the word 'authentic' in the names of products that came from Europe, for example.
That way, American parmesan would still be parmesan, while parmesan that's actually from Parma could be distinguished by calling it authentic parmesan, or something to that effect. It's not rocket science.
Can Crusher
Banned
U.S.A trying to turn into China. Cheap knock offs becoming a thing, can't wait till China dwarfs all other markets and then people complain becuz it diffrent.
It's kind of like a trademark infringement. 
In the eyes of the traditional cheese producers, the specific names of the different types of cheese do not only refer to the way they've been made, but also to its specific local origin. You can produce the same type of cheese anywhere else, but if you are going to give it the "traditional" name of the cheese, the original producers feel like you are breaking their trademark. Like some company would start distributing Oreo fakes (that might taste the same) without having the rights to the name - the difference is that instead of a company a local area holds the copyright.
In the eyes of the traditional cheese producers, the specific names of the different types of cheese do not only refer to the way they've been made, but also to its specific local origin. You can produce the same type of cheese anywhere else, but if you are going to give it the "traditional" name of the cheese, the original producers feel like you are breaking their trademark. Like some company would start distributing Oreo fakes (that might taste the same) without having the rights to the name - the difference is that instead of a company a local area holds the copyright.
I'm European as well and support this move. It's not like we had these rules forever in the EU, either. A lot of products had to be renamed in the last few years because they didn't live up to the strict regulations.
I believe those rules are good for everybody. Manufacturers will never develop their own identity and create new products if they can just rip off something somebody else established. Nobody in Europe would import "fake" Gouda made in Wisconsin - but they probably would import Wisconsin cheese from Wisconsin (if it's actually good).
Bulbo Urethral Baggins
Banned
American here.
Not surprised this is happening. Protectionism isn't some novel concept.
We do cheese, beer and wine better than Europe now, so I understand why they're getting nervous.
Not surprised this is happening. Protectionism isn't some novel concept.
We do cheese, beer and wine better than Europe now, so I understand why they're getting nervous.
Jedeye Sniv
Banned
This is the point I came to make. The names indicate regionality, they should be specific. Just like Cornish Pasties should come from Cornwall, Melton Mowbray Pork Pies from Melton Mowbray, Cheddar cheese from Cheddar.
In this global world I think it's important.
And this is the crux of the problem in these comparisons. We usually compare our best to your standard stuff.
It's like comparing American SUV's to Ferrari or Bugatti and concluding that European auto industry is clearly superior. Or generic European edam to specialist artisan cheeses in America and saying America wins the cheese race.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Seems so weird they want to roll these things back when Italian families in America have been using these cheeses to make ams sell their products for decades. I don't believe they have been getting their cheeses from Europe for decades. Glad the EU is throwing their weight around in this important topic. Way to show up late.
Bulbo Urethral Baggins
Banned
Are you laughing because I forgot chocolate?
Liljagare
Member
The american cheese industry are fooling customers by using the names, lived in the US for 10 years, and hate to say this, but the american versions of europes popular cheeses do not come close to the flavours of the real deal.
Most of the cheese in the US, I wouldn't call it cheese.
Most of the cheese in the US, I wouldn't call it cheese.
I'm gonna start to make Kentuky Bourbon here in Italy.
Over here non-greek feta is called some variation of a greek salad cheese. :lol
Food quality isn't important to you? I mean, we saw what happened with the horse meat.
Pristine_Condition
Member
Considering there actually isn't a single distillery in Bourbon County making whiskey, that's not really that big a deal to me. Go for it. I doubt Evan Williams ever feared competition.
I'd suggest you learn how to spell "Kentucky" though before you get your labels printed.
You already have that.
It's protectionism and it's only being done because American cheese makers are better and American cheese makers popularized it. Anyway, it's not going to go anywhere. The EU cannot force anything.
Rocket Scientist
Member
Good. You benefited from the usage of the names long enough. It's time for justice.
I wonder how they popularized it. Oh right, by abusing the names in question.
I thought this was already protected? eg Parmesan can only be called that if it is made in that location. The shit you get pre-grated in pots is called 'italian hard cheese' in the UK.
So does the US simply ignore that? So you can buy Parma Ham or Parmesan cheese made wherever the fuck you like?
So does the US simply ignore that? So you can buy Parma Ham or Parmesan cheese made wherever the fuck you like?
So yeah, I'm absolutely in favour of this kind of regional protection. The Wiki has some pretty interesting non-EU equivalents:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_Geographical_Status
Those regional protections are EU law, so the US is not compelled to observe them. Unless they sign a treaty requiring it (which is what this is about), that is.
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