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Our government at work: Who has the rights to Parmesan cheese?

Oh my!  Is there a Live-8 concert series planned?  GELDOFFFFF!

The bigger the government, the more important they think they are, they stupider they get.

UN debates whether Italy has exclusive rights to Parmesan cheese

UNITED NATIONS—A food fight is expected to break out at the United Nations today as Canada joins a push for a global Parmesan cheese recipe to the horror of the Italians, original makers of the popular pasta and pizza condiment.

Large Parmesan makers outside Europe—including the United States, Australia and Argentina—say it’s time for global standards for what has become a globally produced brand, and any attempt to restrict the name to a region would impede trade.

Canada adds current rules say a product as widely produced as Parmesan must be given international definition.

The European Union argues the only people capable of making real Parmesan cheese are the dairy farmers and cheesemakers of the so-called “Belly of Italy,” a valley where namesake Parma is a regional capital.

The fight will take place in Rome before the UN’s Codex Alimentarius (Food Code) Commission. It is part of a wider battle between the EU and non-European countries over the right to apply a host of “old world” brand names generically.

France’s Champagne, Portugal’s Madeira and Greece’s Feta are also being contested in another international forum—the World Trade Organization.

Joel Johannesen
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