ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the specific 'clash of cultures' between economic globalization and domestic food policies and focuses on the interplay between traders' rights and the protection of 'food heritage'. It examines the conceptualization of food as a form of intangible cultural heritage. The chapter discusses and critically assesses the main features, promises and pitfalls of the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It also examines recent food wars. The protection of intangible cultural heritage meant as the wealth of cultural traditions and practices passed on from one generation to another has long been neglected by international law. The 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) constitutes the principal instrument governing intangible cultural heritage at the international level. Food-related trade conflicts and disputes do not have a typical form and may relate to different areas of international trade law, ranging from international intellectual property law to agricultural law.
