Dave Emory’s entire lifetime of work is available on a flash drive that can be obtained here. (The flash drive includes the anti-fascist books available on this site.)
COMMENT: A trivial-seeming story is actually quite revealing.
An EU (read “German”) ban on small, open containers olive oil served with meals in European restaurants is ostensibly aimed at helping producers of olive oil in–get this–Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal.
It just so happens, of course, that these nations comprise most of the so-called PIIGS–the ailing economies of that troubled continent.
It is difficult to imagine that this move is actually aimed at helping olive oil producers in those afflicted countries. In all probability, it will HURT small farmers, thereby exacerbating the already dire economic conditions that obtain there.
One wonders if the slack will be taken up by either an overtly German-owned or controlled consortium, or a Bormann capital network-controlled entity.
“EU to Ban Olive Oil Jugs from Restaurants” by Bruno Waterfield; The Telegraph [UK]; 5/17/2013.
EXCERPT: The small glass jugs filled with green or gold coloured extra virgin olive oil are familiar and traditional for restaurant goers across Europe but they will be banned from 1 January 2014 after a decision taken in an obscure Brussels committee earlier this week.
From next year olive oil “presented at a restaurant table” must be in pre-packaged, factory bottles with a tamper-proof dispensing nozzle and labelling in line with EU industrial standards.
The use of classic, refillable glass jugs or glazed terracotta dipping bowls and the choice of a restaurateur to buy olive oil from a small artisan producer or family business will be outlawed.
Sam Clark, the food writer, chef and proprietor of the award winning Moro restaurant in London, told The Daily Telegraph that the ban would stop him serving his customers specially selected Spanish olive oil in dipping bowls with bread when they are seated at their table.
“Yet more packaging is not going to be eco-friendly and will limit choice to more mass produced products.”
Mr Clark attacked the regulation as one that would kill off artisan producers and accelerate the demise in Europe of traditional ways of making and serving food, in favour of large industrial producers. “It is very upsetting. Haven’t they already done enough damage to artisan products?,” he said.
The European Commissions justification for the ban, under special Common Agriculture Policy regulations, is “hygiene” and to protect the “image of olive oil” with a measure that will benefit struggling industrial producers in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. . . .
. . . “This is sort of thing that gets the EU a deservedly bad name. I shouldn’t say so but I hope people disobey this ban,” said an official.
“It will seem bonkers that olive oil jugs must go while vinegar bottles or refillable wine jugs can stay.”
Responding to the ban, Martin Callanan MEP, the leader of the European Conservative and Reformist group, asked: “Is it April 1st?”. . .
Here’s an article from last October about how European olive oil producers are almost exclusively looking to expand in non-EU markets simply because there’s currently a saturation of different brands in the European olive oil market. That suggests that the profit margins are quite low in the sector. It also implies a lot of small independent olive oil producers are still in business...for now:
This is another story that reminds us that it’s very difficult to be “pro-austerity” and “pro-small business”. Bunge’s European vegetable oil division, for instance, should probably be able to roll with this punch...
Here’s an article from last October about how European olive oil producers are almost exclusively looking to expand in non-EU markets simply because there’s currently a saturation of different brands in the European olive oil market. That suggests that the profit margins are quite low in the sector. It also implies a lot of small independent olive oil producers are still in business...for now:
This is another story that reminds us that it’s very difficult to be “pro-austerity” and “pro-small business” because “austerity” policies seem to focus around creating sudden shifts in the economy to “shock” it into better health. It sounds like this could to be a rather shocking for the small olive oil producers. Bunge’s European vegetable oil division, on the other hand, should probably be able to roll with this punch...
And the great olive oil conspiracy of 2013 is no more:
This story is also a reminder that it’s difficult to fairly implement regulations when you have small business competing with a cartel of global multinational agri-giants. The arguments we often hear against new regulations that ‘regulations hurt small businesses because they can’t adjust to the new rules as easily as their larger competitors’ is sort of true.
Maybe, if people really cared about the integrity of “the market”, we should ponder the fact that things like small business and democracy appear to be increasing incompatible with things like global multinational cartels. And maybe something should be done about it.
Although I agree with the tone of the post Dave, the EU does have a well deserved reputation for anal micro-management of their agricultural sector, however, there is a huge amount of fraud in the olive oil trade, with much of it controlled by organized crime.
Here is a report by UC Davis, that shows that much of the imported “extra virgin” olive oil on our supermarket shelves, is actually lower grade oils.
http://olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/news-events/news/files/olive%20oil%20final%20071410%20.pdf
Here is a LA Times article that summarizes the UC Davis study:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/15/business/la-fi-olive-oil-20100715
Thank you VANFIELD. If anyone knows of a good brand I’m all ears. I think of Olive Oil as a staple.
@Vanfield: It sounds like preventing fraud was one of the stated goals of the policy and that’s also one of the reasons it was reversed today because the new policy wouldn’t actually do anything about mislabeled olive oil. Most of the fraud reportedly takes place during the production process and not the at the restaurants:
It’s interesting that we had people questioning whether or not this was simply intended to protect the southern European producers while we simultaneously had the artisan producers complaining that this was going to drive them out of business. So you have to wonder which segment of the industry is more likely to be selling adulterated oils: the small artisans or the big conglomerates? The big producers would certainly have the resources to deal with new regulations more easily, but big conglomerates also appear to generally be run by people that would sell you poison if it made a profit. At the same time, mafia involvement in the sector might more easily operate under the radar as a small producer. So who knows how the prevalence of fraud might be impacted if the artisans are preferentially put out of business and the big boys just gobble up more of the market share. Based on that 2010 UCLA study, the answer seems unclear.
@Pterrafractyl and Vanfield–
The suspicious thing about the original EU ruling was the stated objective of “hygiene” being the rationale for the ban of open containers.
Supposedly, icky germs wouldn’t be ravaging patrons of fine dining establishments in Europe.
This would limit market access for small producers, not “help” them in any way.
Nor does the “hygiene” rationale impinge on labeling fraud in the food industry, which is rife.
The mafia is indeed deeply involved with the food industry–read “Vicious Circles” by the late Jonathan Kwitny.
Thanksgiving, for example, is a big money-making time for wise guys–everyone wants a turkey for the family table on that holiday.
Organized crime makes a lot of money getting unhealthy turkeys to market, where they are sold as “bargains” to poor folks, who consume unhealthy fare.
The mob is deeply involved with all sorts of businesses, large and small.
Generally speaking, their alliances would be with the larger producers, not the small. They would be acting to cannibalize or eliminate smaller competitors and infiltrate and co-opt larger firms.
Again, the notion that banning open containers of olive oil to safeguard the “hygiene” of diners doesn’t even begin to ring true.
The notion that such a ruling would be to “protect” the olive oil producers in Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain is Orwellian–Newspeak at its worst.
THAT is why I thought the initial ruling newsworthy.
Best,
Dave