Protecting and Promoting Regional Speciality Food and Drink Products in the European Union

2000 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Ilbery ◽  
Moya Kneafsey ◽  
Mike Bamford

Despite the increasingly globalized nature of food production and consumption patterns, the demand for regional speciality food and drink products is also increasing. Yet little research exists that examines the link between specific products and particular places. This paper reports on an EU regulation aimed at ‘protecting’ and ‘promoting’ food and drink products with a recognizable geographical origin. Results indicate quite marked national and regional variations in patterns of uptake, reflecting differences in both the cultural significance of regional foods in Europe and the importance of producer cooperatives. There is a real danger that the regulation will benefit larger producers and retailers, rather than genuine small-scale businesses.

Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Bajan ◽  
Natalia Genstwa ◽  
Luboš Smutka

The purpose of the paper was to analyse changes in food consumption patterns in the European Union (EU) countries and link these patterns with food production and imports. The two research questions posed by the authors were as follows i): are the structures of the consumption, production and importation of food becoming more similar or more diverse among EU countries, and ii) are changes in food consumption patterns caused by changes in domestic production, or has food been imported to a greater extent from abroad. The study investigated countries which that have been continuously keeping relevant statistics since 1961. The food consumption structures recorded in the years 1961–1969 and 2010–2017 were compared among these countries. Following this, the countries were grouped into subsets using the criterion of greatest similarity in terms of food consumption structures. The same was done in the case of their food production and imports. The study found that countries were becoming increasingly similar in terms of their consumption patterns. An opposite situation occurred concerning food production. In the case of food imports, structural diversity between countries decreased. It follows that changes in food consumption patterns mainly occurred through the adjustment of imports.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Nicolae Pintilie ◽  

This paper aims to create an image of progress towards circular economy registered by European Union countries through specific indicators. In this way, this paper is based on the study and analysis of the 13 indicators, grouped on 4 pillars: Production and consumption, Waste management, Secondary raw materials, Competitiveness and innovation. After the presentation of the methodology, the paper develops an analysis in time and space of the selected indicators, then an analysis of the countries with their grouping on clusters, creating a map of them and highlighting the current situation of circular economy in the European Union. Moreover, the paper also presents the evolution of the countries regarding circular economy, which has a big importance taking into account that in the European Union the preoccupations for this concept is higher from one period to another. Among the most interesting results are: (1) a massive concentration of countries with problems for Waste management pillar; (2) Europe is one of the regions with the largest contribution in terms of circular economy, but the concept is developing differently from one country to another; (3) The scoreboard evolution is particularly useful in revealing the continuous actions adopted by countries in order to facilitate the conversion to circular economy. Finally, the paper presents possible limits of the research, but also future directions of its development.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. e0104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul Serrano ◽  
Nieves García-Casarejos ◽  
Salvador Gil-Pareja ◽  
Rafael Llorca-Vivero ◽  
Vicente Pinilla

<p>The objective of this study was to analyse, from a long-term perspective, the factors determining the process of the internationalisation of the Spanish agrifood industry. The paper concentrates on the empirical verification of the existence of a home market effect in the food and drink industries in Spain and on the effects on trade flows of integration into the European Union. With this aim in mind, we took into account the latest contributions to the estimation of the gravity equation for a sample of export flows from 13 agrifood subsectors between 1970 and 2012, with a destination of 175 markets. From the results of the study the existence of the “home market effect” stands out as the determining factor of the increasing process of internationalisation in the majority of the subsectors of the food industry. On this point, the presence of this effect is remarkable in the most dynamic industries, where the process of restructuring caused by the development of the internal market was more intense. Furthermore, the influence of the process of European integration has been shown by the literature to be a very important factor. Our results qualify in part the results of previous studies, since the positive effect appeared later than expected. The positive effects did not appear until the completion of the process of transition by the dismantling of the barriers established in the treaty of accession to the European Union.</p>


Author(s):  
Paulina Trębska ◽  
Arkadiusz Gromada

The purpose of this article is to present the changes in the structure of production and consumption of energy from renewable energy sources in Poland and in the European Union. Renewable energy sources account for only about 16% of world energy production. This situation, however, from year to year changes. Prym in the use of energy from renewable sources leads the European Union, which has set itself an ambitious target that by 2020, 20% of the energy extracted from the green renewable energy sources.


2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Andersson

ABSTRACTThis article explores the phenomenon of in-kind remittances of maize and its implications for rural household livelihoods and food consumption. Interviews with a sample of 391 households in eight villages in Malawi are used to substantiate the discussion. Explanations for in-kind remittances are sought in the micro-level interaction between the formal market realm, informalised exchange systems and the household. Remittances are not connected to lower commercialisation levels, suggesting that the explanation for remittances should be sought in the production and consumption patterns of the households. Remittances function as an important redistributive mechanism for food across space. The role of smallholder food production for urban livelihoods as well as the subsistence responsibilities of rural households are underestimated if agrarian household level linkages from rural to urban areas are not recognised in national production and consumption surveys and among policy makers.


Author(s):  
Irina Chiriac ◽  
Gabriela Ignat ◽  
George Ungureanu ◽  
Carmen Luiza Costuleanu

Bio-economy is a major area of the strategy that can afford the European Union to achieve growth: (i) smart, through the development of knowledge and innovation; and (ii) sustainable, based on a greener, more efficient economy in resource management. We believe that the progress of bio-economy cannot be achieved without the harnessing of intellectual capital. Our research aimed to emphasize the benefits of the dynamics of the intellectual capital growth on the evolution of the bio-economy. Thus, the information published by Eurostat (European Statistic Institute) during a period spanning seven years (2011-2018) was used to assess the influence exerted by the conduct of the harness of intellectual capital related to sustainability as well as for the reporting of indicators relevant to appreciating an economic progress and sustainability (renewable waste material, share of renewable energy and energy intensity of the economy). The ultimate goal was represented by the generation of a regression model to see what factor influences mostly the progress of the bio-economy at European and Romanian level. Significant dependency relationships were identified. The results remain robust even after the introduction of certain control variables, such as gross domestic product rate, food production, population growth, urbanization growth and inflation. Our paper sets out to contribute to expanding the specialty literature by highlighting the involvement of intellectual capital as a factor in optimizing sustainability growth and, at a methodological level, by using a multiple regression.


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