French minister hails European food diversity
to protect the diversity, quality and safety of European food such
as Parma ham or...
French farm minister Jean Glavany wants tougher international rules to protect the diversity, quality and safety of European food such as Parma ham or Roquefort cheese. Speaking at an informal meeting in Biarritz of EU farm ministers which ended on 5 September, Glavany calls for a strategy to combat challenges of globalisation. The paper entitled: "Promoting the European Food Model: Variety, Quality and Safety" says the European food model should not be built in opposition to global brands such as MacDonald's or Coca Cola, but rather should be built for "the diversity and originality of our landscape, against uniformity and a lack of choice". Glavany emphasised that diversity is a fundamental cultural question for European identity that should be reflected in agriculture and food.
