Cheese wars
Gruyère is a popular form of hard cheese with origins in regions within Southern Switzerland and Eastern France. The E.U. has tried to protect its regional foodmakers by creating what are called geographical indications. That means only producers from a specific region are allowed to produce certain goods. Washington state apples, Idaho potatoes. Or, a more classic example - champagne grapes need to be grown in Champagne.
But this month, a U.S. District Court in Virginia deemed Gruyère "too generic" to hold on to this protected status, and now American cheesemakers can happily make their own version of Gruyère. Today, Sally Herships and Adrian Ma explore how this case happened, why these protections exist and how global trade is complicating things.
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