[DRAFT] Protected Geographic Origins

[Avaerilon]

Here's a slightly-edited version of my old PGO proposal that sadly failed the first-time around (thanks to a competing proposal amongst other things). I haven't decided on what the best category for it should be, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter. I'd also appreciate any constructive criticism or advice :D I plan to submit it fairly soon

Protected Geographic Origins

Category: ?



Description:



Recognising that numerous food and drink products contain blatant references to a particular location, with marked implications that the product originates from the area in-question and has cultural, historical and economic significance to said area



Understanding that many products are in fact imitations and do not originate from the area in question, but originate from elsewhere



Realising this is unfair practice, since some nations rely on the sale and export of higher-value artisan products, with imitation preventing the value of the products from being properly recognised, thus depressing their economies and possibly preventing further, more lucrative trade with these nations

Further understanding that consumers may prefer to choose these ‘authentic’ products on the basis of perceived quality or provenance, with consumer groups including businesses such as restaurants and émigrés of countries where these goods are produced



Believing that only produce from the region of origin can have the appropriate name or label, to preserve the heritage and protect the economy of said region, and that the consumers of goods should not be misinformed nor misled as to the provenance of said goods.



Hereby



DEFINES this produce as including, but not limited to, products such as fruits and vegetables, fungi, oils and fats, vinegars, wines, spirits, beers, liqueurs, cheeses, milk, yoghurts, fresh meats, cured meats, fish, coffees, teas, pastries, biscuits and baked goods, that have been grown in the region or are composed of ingredients from the region and manufactured to traditional methods as carried-out in the region



MANDATES that only produce that totally originates from a particular area and prepared in that area to traditional methods can carry the appropriate name



HEREBY CREATES a special panel to determine what is and is not produce from the specific areas, to thus grant these genuine goods designated protection, called the Designated Geographic Produce Origin Board (DGPOB)



REQUIRES that DGPOB label the locations from which the products originate as Protected Geographic Denominations (PGDs), to further secure the value and validity of what they produce, and provide a database of all PGDs to be accessible to anyone at any time, along with the products that originate from the PGDs



RULES that companies or producers who sell or market produce that does not originate from said area, yet carries the name of the protected geographic location, must be fined and forced to either withdraw the offending produce or change the name to prevent misleading consumers and damaging the economy of the PGD



CREATES a range of fines to be applied to offending companies or producers, being six times the retail value of the item(s) for the first offence, being eight times for the second offence, and ten times for the third offence, with the recommendation of a revoke of the right to trade being passed to the appropriate authorities of the nation from which the company or producer originates from


ALLOWS similar or imitation goods to be sold, these being produce not originating from said area of geographical protection, as long as the name of the genuine goods is not explicitly used

[Northern Inertia]

Looks very good, but I noticed a few minor points:
- "a blatant reference" should probably be "blatant references," since they don't all contain the same reference, which it could be interpreted as at the moment.
- You should definitely add handicrafts to the list of possible products. IRL these products are often mass-produced in China and then sold as if they were made by hand in the country associated with them. The resolution does not need to be limited to just food and drink.
- I can see some people voting against this because of them feeling that the DGPOB is unnecessarily bureaucratic, especially as you describe the system of fines in such detail (which I think is a good thing). I'm not sure how to avoid this though, as the DGPOB does seem vital for what the resolution is supposed to accomplish. Perhaps someone else could provide more input on how this effect could be avoided.
- The "FURTHER REQUIRES" paragraph is missing a P in the DGPOB.
- I'm not sure the World Assembly, which is essentially a legislative body, can "rule" on anything.

Generally, I like this resolution very much. What I especially enjoy is the amount of detail; you do not only describe what the resolution does, you also say exactly how it is going to do it. To me it seems that many resolutions up for vote are far to vague, so I like that.

Hopefully this was of some help.

[Avaerilon]

Thanks :D Those are very valid points- I'll address them in my next edit

[Avaerilon]

Carried out all but one of the edits you mentioned- left out the hand(i)crafts one, as it didn't technically fit-in with the who produce line.

[Chameliya]

Did you submit this in the end?

[Avaerilon]

No, actually. I'm not quite sure it's totally solid, and I have the issue of not being too sure which category best suits it.

[Kingdom of Grolsch]

The idea is solid and I can't really see any problems with it that can't be fixed, really. As for the category, I've looked at them and "Cultural Heritage" seems appropriate.

Real life EU PGO regulation, for reference: ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/schemes/index_en.htm.