EU PROTECTS ITALIAN CARROT FROM IMITATIONS
(AGI) - Rome, Oct 3 - In a bid to buffer unlawful imitations of
Italian-made products, the European Union has licensed the
first Italian IGP carrot, namely the "Fucino plateau carrot",
Italy's Farmers Association Coldiretti has said. This brings
the number of Italian-made fruit and agriculture products
licensed under IGP up to 43, with the overall number of
Italian-made specialties protected by the EU rising to 150. If
the EU's decision is not vetoed by any member state over the
next six months, the Fucino carrot will be officially included
in the EU List of quality-controlled products.
There are carrots and then there's the ITALIAN FUCINO CARROT! It's smaller but better, rather like the Italian shoe. But how can a carrot be unlawful imitation of a carrot? Is it permissible to advertise one's orange root product in this way, "Looks and tastes just like the Fucino plateau carrot!" One could grow genetic clones of the Fucino carrot near Gouda . Give or take a bit of variation in sunshine and soil, it's still a carrot of the Fucino plateau variety; the only significant difference is that a Dutch farmer would be pulling it out of the ground instead of an Italian farmer. Same carrot, different farmers! Instead of pushing the EU to regulate, farmers should negotiate. The farmers of Fucino could negotiate an agreement with the cheesemakers of Gouda. "We'll allow you to grow and sell tasty Gouda-Fucino carrots if we can produce and sell Fucino-Gouda cheese. The Irish are interested as well." Before you can say Salvatore Ferragamo, we'll all be celebrating the end of unlawful imitation carrots, cheese, wine, bread, chocolate, and shoes with a glass of Guinness-Gouda-Fucino stout.
There are carrots and then there's the ITALIAN FUCINO CARROT! It's smaller but better, rather like the Italian shoe. But how can a carrot be unlawful imitation of a carrot? Is it permissible to advertise one's orange root product in this way, "Looks and tastes just like the Fucino plateau carrot!" One could grow genetic clones of the Fucino carrot near Gouda . Give or take a bit of variation in sunshine and soil, it's still a carrot of the Fucino plateau variety; the only significant difference is that a Dutch farmer would be pulling it out of the ground instead of an Italian farmer. Same carrot, different farmers! Instead of pushing the EU to regulate, farmers should negotiate. The farmers of Fucino could negotiate an agreement with the cheesemakers of Gouda. "We'll allow you to grow and sell tasty Gouda-Fucino carrots if we can produce and sell Fucino-Gouda cheese. The Irish are interested as well." Before you can say Salvatore Ferragamo, we'll all be celebrating the end of unlawful imitation carrots, cheese, wine, bread, chocolate, and shoes with a glass of Guinness-Gouda-Fucino stout.
