Terroir and Public Health: Can Geographical Indications of Origin Promote "Healthy" Products?

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

9-2016

ISBN

9781784718787

DOI

10.4337/9781784718794.00020

Abstract

This chapter considers the following questions. Do geographical indications of origin (GIs) generally identify ‘healthy’ products? And, if so, can GIs promote the production of healthy products and, in turn, become a vehicle to promote public policy objectives related to public health? As I elaborate in the next sections, the brief answer to these questions is ‘maybe, but not really’. In particular, while it can be said that GIs can indeed identify healthy products, they do not always identify healthy products. Thus, it would be inaccurate to say that GIs necessarily promote public health-related objectives. Instead, at least under the current normative framework at the national and international levels, the function of GIs is to identify a variety of different types of product – agricultural, food, beverages and, in some instances, handicrafts – that are grown, manufactured and associated with a specific geographical area. Some of these products can certainly be categorized as healthy, or healthier, products compared to other products available in the marketplace. However, GIs also identify many products that, by common standards, may not be considered healthy products, such as spirits, wines, cheese, sausages, cured meats and even tobacco. In some instances, these products are categorized explicitly as unhealthy and, in general, these products have to be consumed in moderation to avoid negative effects on consumers’ health.

First Page

283

Last Page

304

Num Pages

22

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.

Editor

Alberto Alemanno & Enrico Bonadio

Book Title

The New Intellectual Property of Health: Beyond Plain Packaging

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS