Contested Origins

Abstract

Since 1996, the European Commission's “origin foods” program has awarded protective labels to typical regional products. This ostensibly serves the purpose of maintaining traditional artifacts and local practices against the homogenizing effects of the globalized economy. Because the program emphasizes the link of an artifact to a group's history and territory, conflicts over market shares often refer to truth claims that engage authenticity and cultural identity. Two products from the Republic of Cyprus serve as cases-in-point. Loukoumi, a candy also known as Cyprus delight, was the first product to be awarded an European Union quality label in Cyprus, while the application for halloumi, a cheese traditionally made from goats and sheep milk was hotly contested and is still pending. Research shows that in Cyprus, the European Union program is deployed to the advantage of large-scale industrial producers and facilitates the homogenization of regional diversity in favor of an ethnicized national heritage.

Keywords:

• European Union
• Cyprus
• origin foods
• quality labels

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gisela Welz

Gisela Welz is Professor and Chair of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology at Goethe University Frankfurt/Main. She trained as a cultural anthropologist and European ethnologist at Frankfurt University and at Tuebingen University. As a research fellow and visiting professor, she has taught at UCLA, NYU, the University of Cyprus, ISCTE Lisbon and the University of Manchester. Her research interests include economic globalization, transnational mobility, consumer cultures and food production. Institut für Kulturanthropologie und Europaeische Ethnologie, Goethe-Universitaet Campus Westend, Grueneburgplatz 1, D-60323 Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt/Main, Germany ([email protected]).