Food Fight at the EU Corral

If there is one thing Europeans take seriously, and we know it’s not work for the most part, it’s their regional cuisines.

Now, Americans do, too – don’t get me wrong. We argue over whether it’s a hoagie, a sub, or a grinder, Taylor pork ROLL or Taylor ham (NEVER!), dressing or stuffing, gravy or sauce.

But what we don’t do is arrest someone in North Dakota for his ‘Coney dog’ stand because only in New York’s Coney Island is one legally allowed to sell such an item. Nor do we perp-walk the young pizza entrepreneur in Huntsville who has opened a Chicago pizzeria and makes the deep-dish pies he loves. Of course, that same young lad could be subject to some heated abuse from a Chicago native who might think he’s not doing his town’s namesake justice, but there are no legal penalties attached. And whether or not his pizzeria remains open is based on popularity, not the pizza proprietary naming rights enforcement Nazis.

This is not the case in Europe in regards to many regional and regulated entities.

Everywhere we went in Northern Italy, at the little places we ate, we were treated to the owner or host showing off the regional wines, cheeses, or products that were specialties and had their protected designation of origin (DOP) stamps. And it’s true throughout the European Union for all of the regional delights, even though, granted, some might not be to everyone’s palate.

Europeans are serious about their food.

So it was kind of funny, I ran across two food-related EU stories today, both of which concern conflicts.

One had to do with the European Parliament itself, and I guess what we’d call its convenient little stop’n shop on the first floor.

Apparently, the Italian Agricultural Minister stopped by for some reason and became really irate (and, no – I didn’t make his name up). 

Francesco Lollobrigida was wandering around the grocery when his eye naturally went to some products that were flying the Italian flag, and, to his horror…THEY WERE FAKES!

MAMA MIA! 

Busted by the phony carbonara.

A fresh controversy is simmering inside the European Parliament, and this time, it’s not about legislative deadlines but pasta.

Italian officials are calling for immediate checks after a batch of ‘Italian-style’ products appeared on the shelves of the Parliament’s first-floor supermarket.

During a visit to the Parliament on Monday, Italian Agriculture Minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, spotted a series of items with tricolore branding and Italian-sounding names. One item in particular caused diplomatic distress: a Carbonara sauce.

“All these products represent the worst of Italian-sounding. It is unacceptable to see them on the shelves of the Parliament’s market. I have asked for investigations to be carried out immediately,” he said on social media.

Top conservative ECR lawmkaer Carlo Fidanza, head of the Italian delegation and coordinator in the agriculture committee, backed the minister’s fury with chapter-and-verse legal references.

There are all sorts of calls from the Italian delegation for investigations into the impostors and a you-better-believe-it thorough housecleaning of those tainted grocery shelves, with proper vetting of authentic replacements.

But according to the article, food fights are common at the EU Parliament.

I guess last year, the Eastern Bloc nations were feeling so left out that a Slovak diplomat wrote a sad letter complaining that none of their food was stocked on the shelves.

THERE’S NO GOULASH WAAH!

…In a long and unusually heartfelt message, he lamented that while Western European cuisine is widely represented in Parliament canteens, Eastern European dishes are “almost completely absent.”

He even urged the institution to hire at least one chef from the region to ensure that staples like Szeged goulash, halászlé, or Czech vepřo-knedlo-zelo could finally make it onto the menu.

While they all duke it out over designations of origin, there are those MPs among them who are looking to make eating less pleasurable, period, on a continent known for luscious and dense delights.

The EU food Nazis are revving up to make yet one more thing that makes life in the EU tolerable near impossible.

Brussels is likely to introduce a so-called “fat-tax” in the proposed European Union cardiovascular health plan.

— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) Nov 17, 2025

You see, the Brussels Brahmins are concerned about the rate of cardiovascular disease among their subjects, and feel that even their earnest entreaties to practice some moderation in one’s diet are being ignored. So they are going to do what comes naturally and, while not denying one their schnitzel, weiners, or croissant, they are going to tax the crap out of them to make it hurt if one still insists on eating them.

TAKE THAT, PIGLETS

Brussels is likely to introduce a so-called “fat-tax” in the proposed European Union cardiovascular health plan, set to be adopted by the European Commission in around a month.

The levy would apply to highly processed food with high sugar, fat and salt content.

The measure is one of the most politically charged elements of a far broader initiative to curb cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Europe, set to be approved in mid-December.

…Although framed as a public health effort, the plan also reopens a debate in the EU about competence and personal choice.

“Taxation at EU level has played a pivotal role in reducing risk factors linked to our lifestyles,” the draft says.

Brussels wants to establish a network of competent authorities to provide a forum for co-operation and co-ordination in the taxation of unhealthy food products. That would be designed to support the exchange of information and best practice among member states.

It wants to set up a database of such taxes in force in member states and propose the introduction of levies on relevant food and drink products.

Here’s where the EU is getting out over their golden skis a tad. Member states may not want EU taxes imposed universally on their own citizens for personal choices about national cuisine.

They’re calling all the plans incorporated within the tax a ‘gentle nudge.’

…Alongside prevention, the draft plan places heavy emphasis on early detection — an area where member states vary widely.

A significant share of older Europeans have not had a recent blood-pressure reading, despite hypertension being the top risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. Genetic conditions, such as familial hypercholesterolaemia, often go undiagnosed until serious illness strikes.

Familial hypercholesterolaemia, from birth, increases the risk of premature heart disease and stroke if untreated.

The EC wants to introduce an EU protocol on health checks, providing a template rather than a mandate.

Its argument is that shared standards need not dictate national systems but simply give citizens more equal access to effective screening, regardless of where they live.

All to ‘induce behavioral change’ without too much economic pain. Of course.

Isn’t that always the rational?

“A carefully designed EU-wide micro-levy can maintain price stability while also inducing behavioral changes,” the draft states, according to dpa . This would influence consumer behavior without placing too great a financial burden on customers. Companies would also have a financial incentive to produce healthier foods. The tax would apply to foods high in sugar, salt, or fat, and the revenue would be used to fund health research. 

I’m running out of things that the EU has left to take control of.

Every bit of social engineering ever has started as a ‘gentle nudge’ before it turned into a hard shove over the edge into state slavery.

A molon labe shirt with some chocolate croissants would work right about now.

And be a fight worth having.

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