Although this is not a very recent event in economics, I wanted to bring attention to a topic that I found interesting. What does hummus have to do with economics? Lebanon was trying to stop Israel from marketing hummus and other dishes as Israeli. To do this, Lebanon wanted to register hummus, with an EU commission, as Lebanese which would allow them to have exclusive rights to the term "hummus" on any product packaging.
The article that I read with this information argues that "authenticity" is not determined by tradition or heritage, but by practice. Therefore, hummus is Israeli so long as it is consumed and understood as such by the Israeli population.
With the rise of global hummus consumption, authenticity takes on an economic value. Lebanese producers are not well represented in international sales therefore, they have attempted to trademark hummus, both to legislate and profit from the construction of authenticity. Legal authenticity embodied in the trademark of a foodstuff provides an economic advantage and promotes ethnic, national, or regional pride. The attempt to gain the exclusive legal right to market hummus would benefit Lebanon in both these ways.
In 2009, the largest batch of hummus was made in Lebanon (4,532 lbs of hummus). This beat the previous record, set by Israel, of an 882 lb dish of hummus. Israel retaliated though and created an 8,992.5 lb dish of hummus. Lebanon came back again with a 23,042 lb dish of hummus. This was the final large dish made. The purpose of making these large dishes was to tell the world that this dish is a part of a certain culture's traditions.
However, Lebanon was stopped because hummus was proved to be part of the general culture of that geographic region and could be used by any producer.
Ariel; The Hummus Wars. Gastronomica 1 February 2012; 12 (1): 34-41. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/GFC.2012.12.1.34
It's really interesting to read about how much of an economic impact a food like hummus has. Living in the U.S. hummus isn't considered a very popular food in comparison to many other foods like hamburgers and what not. But, when you look at the global usage of hummus it makes more sense has to its potential impact on an economy.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how you define the term authenticity. I feel like in society there is a struggle to find true authenticity whether it is cultural spiritual etc. I think this is one of the things Ohio Wesleyan tries to teach its students over time.
ReplyDeleteThis brings up an interesting concept that I'm sure is relevant in other economic and cultural debates. It is difficult to determine the exact roots of something like hummus, when national borders were not as defined many years ago. It makes sense that the Lebanese hummus producers would be frustrated by being shut out of that market, especially if they believe it was created by them.
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