Alert: is your Roquefort cheese really from Roquefort?

Kraft Foods, basmati rice, Parmesan cheese

by Robert Weissman

What do you get when you buy Darjeeling tea? Are the leaves actually grown in India? And should you care? Food companies in this country care because they invest huge sums in names such as Dijon mustard, basmati rice and feta cheese--even though their products aren't from anywhere near France, India or Greece.

Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, so-called geographical indications already cover wines and spirits, prohibiting misleading name claims. That's why champagne comes only from the Champagne region of France; otherwise, it's sparkling wine.

But the European Union wants these rules to cover foods as well, which American trade officials oppose. "In the US, Parmesan cheese is a kind of cheese, not a cheese produced in a specific region of Italy," says Sarah Thorn of the Grocery Manufacturers of America.

If unable to use these terms, American companies would have to spend millions to change their products' names and market them in new ways. Or they'd have to sell mustard that's really from France, rice from India and cheese from Greece.

In a March 2005 ruling in a lawsuit instigated by Kraft Foods, Inc., the WTO found that Europe made it easier to protect Parmesan cheese than, say, Florida oranges, denying the United States its rights as a WTO member. Despite this partial victory, the broader dispute will drag on for years, not just because vast sums are at stake.

Also at issue are two different visions of how food should be produced. Europe wants to protect products from specific regions, the processes by which they are produced, and the farmers and artisans that produce them. To the Europeans, it really matters that Roquefort cheese is ripened in caves under Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

American multinationals couldn't care less, wanting "the cheapest ingredients they can find from anywhere on the planet," claims Brian Halweil, author of Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket.

Plenty of American farmers, artisans and consumers also believe in "homegrown pleasures"--whether from this country or from overseas. They believe, too, that claims made on food packaging should mean something, even if they have to pay a little more to know what they're getting.

But unless they make their voices heard, you might soon find that the McIntosh apple you think comes from upstate New York was grown in, say, Chile. The result may be the downfall not only of New York apple growers but of the many small producers who preserve local foods and cultural traditions.

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