Thanks to Bigmista
Neil Strawder for pointing out on his
Facebook feed this article from
Larry Olmsted in Forbes
Lifestyle section.
From the article:
Despite the fact that Kobe Beef, as well as Kobe Meat and Kobe Cattle,
are patented trademarks in Japan, these trademarks are neither
recognized nor protected by U.S. law. As far as regulators here are
concerned, Kobe beef, unlike say Florida Orange Juice, means almost
nothing (the “beef” part should still come from cows). Like the recent
surge in the use of the unregulated label term “natural,” it is an
adjective used mainly to confuse consumers and profit from that
confusion.
It's an interesting read, so take a few minutes to
read it here. There is a lot of explanation of the real Kobe Beef process, rules and regulations that I found very interesting.
I like that Olmsted points out that there are many US based beef products that are of superb quality, some may be even better than true Kobe. Search these out next time you are going to a BBQ Competition or cooking something for a special gathering.
Bottom line, find the best product that you enjoy the most and can afford. And get that!
This is actually just part one in a series of three stories. Also take a look at:
Part 2: What about "Wagyu" and "Domestic Kobe beef"? Sorry, more meaningless labels.
and
Part 3: Why the U.S. Government wants you to eat fake foods.
From Part 3:
Twelve decades ago, the highest profile of the many foodstuffs to come
out of the Treaty of Madrid protected was Champagne. Every major power
in the world at the time elected to sign the treaty, with the exception
of the United States. As a result, the term “Champagne” has been
protected in almost every other first-world country since 1891. The
Treaty has been revised many times, and in every case since, the U.S.
has adamantly refused to sign. This is not an issue forgotten by the
rest of the world. The European Union alone has a list of over 600
geographically designated products it protects under law, almost none of
which the US agrees with. Despite repeated requests dating back more
than a century from the French, and in recent decades the World Trade
Organization and European Union, the U.S. has stubbornly and
purposefully refused to become party to this treaty or dozens of others
like it.
"Don't worry, I'm with the Government and I'm here to help." - Sure...
Just another example of how more government and more laws doesn't mean we citizens are better off.
Follow Larry Olmsted on
Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/TravelFoodGuy
and Bigmista at:
http://twitter.com/bigmistasbbq and his website at:
http://bigmista.com/
