Geographical Indication and Global Agri-Food

This book addresses the relevance of geographical indication (GI) as a tool for local and socio-economic development and democratization of agri-food, with case studies from Asia, Europe and the Americas. A geographical indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. It provides not only a way for businesses to leverage the value of their geographically unique products, but also to inform and attract consumers. A highly contested topic, GI is praised as a tool for the revitalization of agricultural communities, while also criticized for being an instrument exploited by global corporate forces to promote their interests. There are concerns that the promotion of GI may hamper the establishment of democratic forms of development. The contributing authors address this topic by offering theoretically informed investigations of GI from around the world. The book includes case studies ranging from green tea in Japan, olive oil in Turkey and dried fish in Norway, to French wine and Mexican Mezcal. It also places GI in the broader context of the evolution and trends of agri-food under neoliberal globalization. The book will be of interest to researchers, policy makers and students in agri-food studies, sociology of food and agriculture, geography, agricultural and rural economics, environmental and intellectual property law, and social development.

Alessandro Bonanno is Texas State University System Regents' Professor and Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Sam Houston State University, USA. Kae Sekine is Associate Professor of Economics at Aichi Gakuin University, Japan. Hart N. Feuer is Junior Associate Professor of Rural Sociology at Kyoto University, Japan.

Introduction Part I Theoretical Assumptions 1. Geographical Indication in Agri-Food and its Role in the Neoliberal Global Era: A Theoretical Analysis Part II The Asian Context 2. Geographical Indications out of Context and in Vogue: The Awkward Embrace of European Heritage Agricultural Protections in Asia 3. The Impact of Geographical Indications on the Power Relations between Producers and Agri-Food Corporations: A Case of Powdered Green Tea "Matcha" 4. Provenance for Whom? A Comparative Analysis of Geographical Indications in the EU and Indonesia Part III Cases from Europe 5. How to Use Geographical Indication for the Democratization of Agricultural Production: A Comparative Analysis of GI Rent-seeking Strategies in Turkey 6. Geographical Indications - A Double-Edged Tool for Food Democracy. The Cases of the Norwegian GI-Evolution and the Protection of Stockfish from Lofoten as Cultural Adaptation Work 7. The Decline of the French Label of Origin Wine 8. Modern Resilience of Georgian Wine: Geographical Indications and International Exposure Part IV Cases from the Americas 9. The Multi-level, Multi-actor and Multifunctional System of Geographical Indications in Brazil 10. The GI of Mezcal in Mexico: A Tool of Exclusion for Small Producers 11. Whose Labor Counts as Craft? Terroir and Farm Workers in North American Craft Cider 12. The Potential Role of Geographical Indication in Supporting Indigenous Communities in Canada 13. Conclusions: Comprehensive Change and the limits and Power of Sectorial Measures