[ Thanks to Barbara
Irwin for this link. ]
“Canada is currently negotiating two major
international trade agreements whose success may ultimately depend
on the level of protection provided to Parma ham. While it may seem
hard to believe, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic
and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement (ACTA) are both facing increasing opposition based on
European demands to expand protection for “geographical
indications.”“Geographical indications (GI) are signs used on goods —
frequently food, wine, or spirits — that have a specific
geographical origin and are said to possess qualities, reputation
or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that place
of origin. Given the quality associated with the product,
proponents of GI protection argue that it is needed to avoid
consumer confusion as well as to protect legitimate producers”