Food authenticity should only mean DOP or geographic identity (GI) regulation. Everything else is gatekeeping and power struggle. Im glad this discussion comes up every year with a hard hitting blogger recycling the same points for clicks because at least it makes a new batch of people think about it and the second order implications about identity in general.

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grebc 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That the EU runs a racket? Correct. It does remind me of that.

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ggm 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Like "prosecco" retrospectively applying for DOP because they can under EU rules, and so fuck over the Australian Prosecco GRAPE GROWERS because thats what it is folks: a varietal.

Like "feta" which is a style of cheese across the balkans, if you look in Melbourne Qeen Vic markets you can find Greek, Turkish, Albanian, Bulgarian, Danish Feta, fighting it out when the lights are off... But no, now it's DOC/PDO and so we're going to have to change its name.

DOP/GI is a scam unless it's policed. People try to retconn things into it (prosecco)

Champagne, I can get behind. I don't mind Aus bubbles being sold as -style because they're bloody good.

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msla 16 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Food authenticity should only mean DOP or geographic identity (GI) regulation.

It shouldn't even mean this much, frankly, as those things are merely protectionist trade policies meant to artificially drive up the price of certain goods without regard for quality. People on the Internet give too much deference to politicized trade regulations.

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supertroop 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It’s ok to admit you can’t tell the difference between real parmigiana and kraft Parmesan. You don’t need get defensive and claim everyone else except you is a phony because of your lack of interest and/or taste.

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tptacek 16 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't think snooty rules about how to make carbonara or alla gricia are actually driving up prices. In the case of cacio e pepe, the snooty recipe is also the cheapest (it's just trickier to pull off.)

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2muchcoffeeman 16 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You can still choose not to buy the “authentic“ good can’t you?

	▲	msla 15 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I can, but what annoys me is people saying "Well that technically isn't champagne because it isn't from the right region of the right country" and acting like being able to quote obscure regulations makes them "technically correct" in any context outside of a courtroom.

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goosejuice 15 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Maybe in some cases. There's a pretty clear distinction in quality from some "gruyere" made in say Wisconsin and a AOP gruyere like 1655. Meanwhile there's a stupid amount of good alpine cheese in the US that aren't named gruyere, like alpha tolman that are happy just saying it's gruyere like.