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My point is mainly that these are producer protections masquerading as consumer protections. I would have no problem with a definition of "feta" that focused o

My point is mainly that these are producer protections masquerading as consumer protections. I would have no problem with a definition of "feta" that focused on things like the ingredients, process or qualities of the resulting cheese. Those are the sorts of things that a law intended to protect consumers would focus on. Instead, the EU defines "feta" by region (with some ingredient and process requirements as well), which is simply an attempt to benefit producers. I just want a bit of honesty about what these sorts of laws are intended to achieve. In my opinion, the "feta" geographical indication is a particularly absurd case, since "feta" is just the modern Greek name for a type of cheese that's been produced throughout the Balkans and in Turkey since time immemorial. Greek cheese-makers are lucky that their name for the cheese became international (as opposed, say, to the Serbo-Croat name for the cheese), and now they're cashing in on it.

ska 5y ago
> My point is mainly that these are producer protections masquerading as consumer protections. And my point is that this is not true; that they are both, and it's important. So I guess we are disagreeing after all :) I think a non-region tied version of this would be great, but "anything goes" is probably worse than current state. Of course any sensible discussion about the producer protection side has to look at duties and quotas too, which makes things more complicated.
- SiempreViernes 5y ago
  There are protections that aren't tied to regions, called Traditional speciality guaranteed (https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-labels/quality-schemes-explained_en#tsg https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety...). The "problem" is that typically when there is a strong food brand, it also has a strong geographic association, and so TSG is available only for lesser brands.
barrkel 5y ago
What about consumers that want a guarantee on the production? Can you see a world where consumers and producers are not in opposition, and actually have some alignment of interests?
- kingludite 5y ago
  In NL they sell feta and next to it a product called white cheese. It's not the same and much cheaper but in [more complex] meals where the cheese is not the dominant flavor you wont notice the difference. Say a salad made of large chunks of feta, 1/4 tomatoes, q-cumber, onion, oregano, salt, black pepper, vinegar and olive oil. I would use the traditional product. If the chunks are smaller and the salad has 10 more ingredients the white cheese will do just fine. I need to be able to tell the difference tho. My interest seem to be aligned with the producers.

ska 5y ago

> My point is mainly that these are producer protections masquerading as consumer protections. And my point is that this is not true; that they are both, and it's important. So I guess we are disagreeing after all :) I think a non-region tied version of this would be great, but "anything goes" is probably worse than current state. Of course any sensible discussion about the producer protection side has to look at duties and quotas too, which makes things more complicated.

SiempreViernes 5y ago
There are protections that aren't tied to regions, called Traditional speciality guaranteed (https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-labels/quality-schemes-explained_en#tsg https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety...). The "problem" is that typically when there is a strong food brand, it also has a strong geographic association, and so TSG is available only for lesser brands.

barrkel 5y ago

What about consumers that want a guarantee on the production? Can you see a world where consumers and producers are not in opposition, and actually have some alignment of interests?

kingludite 5y ago
In NL they sell feta and next to it a product called white cheese. It's not the same and much cheaper but in [more complex] meals where the cheese is not the dominant flavor you wont notice the difference. Say a salad made of large chunks of feta, 1/4 tomatoes, q-cumber, onion, oregano, salt, black pepper, vinegar and olive oil. I would use the traditional product. If the chunks are smaller and the salad has 10 more ingredients the white cheese will do just fine. I need to be able to tell the difference tho. My interest seem to be aligned with the producers.