ABSTRACT
The increase in foreign travel and holidays witnessed throughout the second half of the twentieth century has generated a heightened awareness of alternative cultures. In particular, interest has focused on alternative eating traditions. This has prompted an increase in demand for foreign gastronomic produce. The opportunities for trading imitation produce have grown likewise: Canadian ‘cheddar’, Danish ‘feta’, Japanese ‘whisky’ and Californian ‘Chablis’ afford examples of products associated with one place being produced and branded by another. Trade negotiations such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) aim to globalize the legislation affecting agricultural produce. The growth in use of geographical indications (negotiated in GATT under intellectual property) on gastronomic products such as wine, cheese and butter reinforces that there is, indeed, a need for producers to protect their produce, possibly in the form of intellectual property. In addition to the threat posed by imitation produce, globalization creates internal and regional pressures on countries (as exemplified by Spain in this chapter) leading to the potential homogenization of regional gastronomies.
