Plan B Forum

The Cornish pasty could be threatened by a flood of American imitations under the proposed free trade deal between the European Union and the United States, it was claimed on Monday.
Germany warned that the EU would not be able to uphold laws protecting regional foods under such a transatlantic trade agreement.

Christian Schmidt, the German agriculture minister, said that protections for regional specialities, ranging from Cornwall's famous meat pastry to Germany's Black Forest Ham, might have to be dropped as the price for such a deal.

"If we want to take advantage of the opportunities of free trade with the huge American market, we can no longer have every type of sausage and cheese each protected as a speciality," he said in an interview with Spiegel magazine.

Under EU law, protected regional specialities, such as the Cornish pasty, can only be sold under their traditional names if they were actually made in the region. Around 60 British products are on the EU's protected status list of 1,100 foods, alongside delicacies including Parmesan and Feta cheeses, Prosciutto and Black Forest hams.

Stilton, Cumberland sausage and Melton Mowbray Pork Pie are among British products protected by the EU but are not considered at risk because they are not imitated by American food producers.
The legal protections are enforced in Europe but not in America where immigrants, such as Cornish copper miners or Bavarian farmers, have taken European food traditions like the Cornish pasty or Black Forest Ham and made them their own.

Mr Schmidt claimed it would be impossible to maintain the EU's current regional protection system under a planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a proposed free trade agreement with the US.

He said that Michael Froman, the US Trade Representative, had raised the issue with him during ongoing negotiations between Brussels and Washington.

Germany has reacted with horror amid fears that beloved specialities such as Nurembuger sausages, Printen biscuits from Aachen, and Dresdner Stollen, a type of Christmas cake from Dresden, could soon be under threat from American-made imitators.

"Will Black Forest Ham soon come from America?" Bild newspaper asked, pointing out that a product that has nothing to do with the Black Forest is already sold under that name in the US.

The European Commission has dismissed Mr Schmidt's comments and insisted that "there is no question of weakening the existing protection for recognised EU products".

"In the framework of TTIP as of any other trade agreement negotiation, the goal of the Commission is to extend the protection certain products already get on the EU market to the concerned market," said a spokesman.

Many US food and drink manufacturers are insisting that the EU drops protections for products that have become common in America, often for over century. One such product is the Cornish pasty after immigrant miners from Cornwall established their lunchtime meal as a popular food in America over a century ago. The Cornish pasty Association secured EU "protected geographical indication" (PGI) for their product three years ago in order to stop "misrepresentation of the name that holds so much value and is part of Cornwall's heritage". The association estimates that least 120 million traditional recipe Cornish pasties are made each year, trade that is worth £300 million or around 20 per cent of the total turnover of Cornwall's food and drink sector.

Gob wrote:"food type product; Note, contains nothing of any nutritional value."

Gob wrote:I think the lorries carrying them would be ambushed and set on fire at the Cornwall / Devon border.

.... "

bigskygal wrote:Like this British-designed lorry, rubato?



eta: The Brits aren't such bad engineers, ya know!

Far From Battlefield, Marines Lose One-Third of Harrier Fleet
The corps, persuing its long-held dream of a unique flying force, pays a heavy price: 45 of its elite officers killed
December 15, 2002|Alan C. Miller and Kevin Sack | Times Staff Writers



YUMA, Ariz. — Though many had died flying the Harrier, Marine Corps pilot Peter E. Yount never thought it would let him down.

He knew the attack jet well and was devoted to it. In the entire U.S. arsenal, only the compact, muscular-looking Harrier could lift straight up off a runway, hover like a hummingbird, then blast off in search of targets.

"Difficult but honest" is how Yount described it.

But on a clear spring day in 1998, the Harrier would betray him. At 14,500 feet over the Southern California desert, the plane's engine quit. Yount twice tried to restart it. No response.

"I'm losing control of this thing," Yount radioed to his wingman in a firm voice. "I've got zero hydraulics. I've got nothing. I'm getting out of this thing. Get out of my way!"

He veered the aircraft away from farmhouses and highways in the Imperial Valley below, then pulled the ejection handle. And there, at 7,500 feet, the Harrier failed him again.

As Yount shot out of the cockpit, his seat rotated out of position. When his parachute unfurled above him, its harness straps smacked violently against his helmet, whipsawing his head. The 42-year-old lieutenant colonel and father of two young girls died instantly of a broken neck.

For the Marines, the ensuing rituals were painfully familiar. Notify the widow. Remove the wreckage. Investigate the causes.

They know this drill all too well because the Harrier is the most dangerous airplane flying in the U.S. military today.

Over the last three decades, it has amassed the highest rate of major accidents of any Air Force, Navy, Army or Marine plane now in service. Forty-five Marines have died in 143 noncombat accidents since the corps bought the so-called jump jet from the British in 1971. More than a third of the fleet has been lost to accidents.

Navy's best pilot killed in Harrier training crash

By Edmund Conway

12:00AM GMT 06 Dec 2002

A pilot considered the most distinguished and experienced in the Royal Navy was killed yesterday when his Harrier crashed during a routine training mission.

Lt Cdr Martin London, who trained more than half the current Sea Harrier pilots, was instructing another Fleet Air Arm pilot when their two-seater T8 Sea Harrier went out of control shortly after take-off at RAF Wittering, in Cambridgeshire.

Both pilots ejected, but Lt Cdr London was fatally injured.

Gob wrote:Amazing how;
rube criticises UK lorries in a thread about pasties
BSG points out that UK makes some good vehicles
Rube claims it's not fair to compare cars and lorries
Rube offers as a "reasonable comparison" Harrier jump jets!

bigskygal wrote:I've seen the term lorries in lots of Brit lit that I've read, but honestly I looked it up to see what scope of vehicle it encompasses.

The definition I found seemed to indicate it's just equivalent to a truck built to carry loads - but is it actually a larger, delivery-sized truck, rather than the smaller one I posted?

Just curious about standard usage . . .

The rugged qualities and reliability of these cars was to see a good number survive into old age and, following the war, conversions into pick-up trucks were not uncommon, often carried out by farmers and local garages etc. Commencing life as a saloon, the 1930 Cowley truck offered here was apparently converted for use as a milk float around 1947.