ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��

In Follow the Food’s fourth seminar which took place on January 22nd, Martijn Huysmans (Utrecht School of Economics) presented the case of Gouda to an audience from a diverse array of fields, including social impact, political ecology, geography, and responsible innovation.

Huysmans began by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of Geographical Indications (GIs), one of the most recent tools considered to mitigate the impact of the global food system. After presenting the geographical distribution of Geographical Indications over the European Union,, Huysmans explained that the Netherlands is home to a relatively limited number of GIs, including potato, asparagus, vlaai and cheese GIs and to Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) cheeses. Then Huysmans showcased the production chain of Dutch Gouda, in a promotional video for Gouda Holland PGI. There seems to be a different idea of quality in the Netherlands versus Italy or France. While their GI cheeses are mostly artisanal and raw-milk, the protected Dutch Gouda cheeses proudly use industrial methods as a means of ensuring food safety and standardization. While most EU consumers assume that “Gouda” cheese has to come from the Netherlands, the word “Gouda” itself is not protected. Huysmans’ presentation thus focused on three particular cheeses: Gouda Holland PGI, Gouda North-Holland PGO and Boerenkaas TSG. After the fascinating presentation ended, the discussion was kicked off by Huysmans sharing an anecdote about not being able to purchase Gouda PGI and Gouda North-Holland PDO in their local Dutch supermarket but easily finding both in a small village store in Brittany, France. After an engaging conversation, Huysmans proceeded to guide the audience through a blind tasting of four “Jong Belegen” (young mature; ripened for 2 months) cheeses.

Missed one of Follow the Food’s events, but curious to learn more about the opportunities and challenges of Geographical Indicators? Find out about GIs and Italian cheese, Tajik apricots, and coffee from Aceh .