5 ms·

Surely the USA can develop its own authentic regional foods?

dougmwne 5y ago
What's interesting is that the US absolutely has a huge amount of regional food. Many food items are tied to a specific city, and this goes way beyond the Philadelphia Cheesesteak. The food was often a reimagining of immigrants' foods from back home, but with a distinctively new twist. But rather than identify and celebrate these food traditions, the US chooses to structure its policy around Kraft and General Mills and allows its companies to homogenize its culture. The US could develop and celebrate GI's but it won't.
- iso1210 5y ago
  Florida Orange Juice, Vidalia onions, Idaho potatoes, and of course the "Made In USA" stamp.
  - 123pie123 5y ago
    I'm I right in thinking that 'Florida Orange Juice' has to come from Florida? what law would a company be breaking in the US, if say a company used oranges from a different state than Florida and made Orange juice and labeled it 'Florida Orange Juice' because the company used the same type of oranges or the owner was from florida?
    - quesera 5y ago
      But "Florida Orange Juice" is a trademark of the Florida Department of Citrus. This is a state agency tasked with promoting Florida's members of the citrus industry. They created and registered the trademark. Before they started using it, the mark did not exist. They funded ad campaigns to spread the trademark, and they license it at no cost to Florida producers of citrus products. The difference between trademark protection and a PDO is that the PDO seeks to unwind the historical dispersion of language and culture, purportedly for consumer benefit (and certainly there is some benefit) but -- let's be honest -- this is clearly economic protectionism. Edit: "Florida Orange Juice" is also clearly economic protectionism! Californian (and Brazilian) growers are disadvantaged by the active and ongoing efforts of the FL Dept of Citrus. But they have a trademark. My objection to PDOs is that they're often re-fighting battles that were lost hundreds of years ago. Historical revisionism promulgated by economically self-interested groups, backed by governments, with the goal of global enforcement, and sold as consumer protection ... is silly when it fails, and abhorrent when it succeeds. IMO!
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Arnt 5y ago
Yes, in principle, but why would Kraft Foods help develop something that's tied to a part of Michigan instead of something that's tied to Kraft? The US has unusually many large companies and unusually few small ones and farmers, so this question matters.
- ginko 5y ago
  Ever heard of Unilever or Nestlé?
  - Arnt 5y ago
    Of course. But what do you mean to say? Do, for example, try to suggest that Unilever or Nestlé sells as much "parmesan" in Europe as Kraft sells in the US? (I mention parmesan and Kraft because the article does — feel free to substitute any other product/conglomerate pair.)
    - rsynnott 5y ago
      I assume their point was that enormous food conglomerates aren’t just a US thing.
      - Arnt 5y ago
        Sounds likely, coupled with a blind assumption that since the conglomerates dominate most segments in the US, they'll dominate the geographical products in Europe (and where relevant, elsewhere) to a comparable degree.
Telemakhos 5y ago
There are regional US foods. There are, for example, many regional kinds of barbecue, including two varieties of pulled pork in North Carolina (eastern Carolina barbecue with a vinegar-pepper sauce, and western or Lexington barbecue that adds tomato and sometimes sugar), Texas brisket, and many others. Likewise there are Surrey hams (nothing like so-called "Virginia" ham despite representing colonial-era Virginian ham smoking and curing recipes), red-eye country hams, city hams (the so-called "Virginia" ham), spam, etc. There are Virginia peanuts that are larger and crispier than any others you'll find, but in Louisiana you'll find boiled peanuts instead. Kentucky has its juleps and Derby (or "May Day") pies as well as hot-browns. Florida serves key lime pie, mojitos, Cuban sandwiches (really invented in Tampa and blending Cuban and Italian deli traditions) and Cuban coffee. Hawaii has poké, which is now spreading everywhere. There are authentic regional foods in the United States, some with roots going back to the colonial era, some more modern. It would be politically incorrect to protect those with a European-style system of regional designations, however. On the right, regulations, especially those creating the potential (or certainty of) cartel pricing, are unwelcome. On the center and moderate left, there is little desire to promote regionalism over a national picture that emphasizes a common "America" that all citizens share. On the far left, you find the absolute denial that America (or more specifically white America) has any sort of culture of its own. The federal United States is not quite set up for regional distinctions the same way that the EU, as a much looser set of sovereign nations, is.

What's interesting is that the US absolutely has a huge amount of regional food. Many food items are tied to a specific city, and this goes way beyond the Philadelphia Cheesesteak. The food was often a reimagining of immigrants' foods from back home, but with a distinctively new twist. But rather than identify and celebrate these food traditions, the US chooses to structure its policy around Kraft and General Mills and allows its companies to homogenize its culture. The US could develop and celebrate GI's but it won't.

iso1210 5y ago
Florida Orange Juice, Vidalia onions, Idaho potatoes, and of course the "Made In USA" stamp.
- 123pie123 5y ago
  I'm I right in thinking that 'Florida Orange Juice' has to come from Florida? what law would a company be breaking in the US, if say a company used oranges from a different state than Florida and made Orange juice and labeled it 'Florida Orange Juice' because the company used the same type of oranges or the owner was from florida?
  - quesera 5y ago
    But "Florida Orange Juice" is a trademark of the Florida Department of Citrus. This is a state agency tasked with promoting Florida's members of the citrus industry. They created and registered the trademark. Before they started using it, the mark did not exist. They funded ad campaigns to spread the trademark, and they license it at no cost to Florida producers of citrus products. The difference between trademark protection and a PDO is that the PDO seeks to unwind the historical dispersion of language and culture, purportedly for consumer benefit (and certainly there is some benefit) but -- let's be honest -- this is clearly economic protectionism. Edit: "Florida Orange Juice" is also clearly economic protectionism! Californian (and Brazilian) growers are disadvantaged by the active and ongoing efforts of the FL Dept of Citrus. But they have a trademark. My objection to PDOs is that they're often re-fighting battles that were lost hundreds of years ago. Historical revisionism promulgated by economically self-interested groups, backed by governments, with the goal of global enforcement, and sold as consumer protection ... is silly when it fails, and abhorrent when it succeeds. IMO!

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

Arnt 5y ago

Yes, in principle, but why would Kraft Foods help develop something that's tied to a part of Michigan instead of something that's tied to Kraft? The US has unusually many large companies and unusually few small ones and farmers, so this question matters.

ginko 5y ago
Ever heard of Unilever or Nestlé?
- Arnt 5y ago
  Of course. But what do you mean to say? Do, for example, try to suggest that Unilever or Nestlé sells as much "parmesan" in Europe as Kraft sells in the US? (I mention parmesan and Kraft because the article does — feel free to substitute any other product/conglomerate pair.)
  - rsynnott 5y ago
    I assume their point was that enormous food conglomerates aren’t just a US thing.
    - Arnt 5y ago
      Sounds likely, coupled with a blind assumption that since the conglomerates dominate most segments in the US, they'll dominate the geographical products in Europe (and where relevant, elsewhere) to a comparable degree.

Telemakhos 5y ago

There are regional US foods. There are, for example, many regional kinds of barbecue, including two varieties of pulled pork in North Carolina (eastern Carolina barbecue with a vinegar-pepper sauce, and western or Lexington barbecue that adds tomato and sometimes sugar), Texas brisket, and many others. Likewise there are Surrey hams (nothing like so-called "Virginia" ham despite representing colonial-era Virginian ham smoking and curing recipes), red-eye country hams, city hams (the so-called "Virginia" ham), spam, etc. There are Virginia peanuts that are larger and crispier than any others you'll find, but in Louisiana you'll find boiled peanuts instead. Kentucky has its juleps and Derby (or "May Day") pies as well as hot-browns. Florida serves key lime pie, mojitos, Cuban sandwiches (really invented in Tampa and blending Cuban and Italian deli traditions) and Cuban coffee. Hawaii has poké, which is now spreading everywhere. There are authentic regional foods in the United States, some with roots going back to the colonial era, some more modern. It would be politically incorrect to protect those with a European-style system of regional designations, however. On the right, regulations, especially those creating the potential (or certainty of) cartel pricing, are unwelcome. On the center and moderate left, there is little desire to promote regionalism over a national picture that emphasizes a common "America" that all citizens share. On the far left, you find the absolute denial that America (or more specifically white America) has any sort of culture of its own. The federal United States is not quite set up for regional distinctions the same way that the EU, as a much looser set of sovereign nations, is.