Post: #1

link

Quote:ROSTRENEN, France — On a velvety green patch of the French countryside, organic farmer Jean Cabaret gave a little shudder. A looming trade deal with the United States, he fears, may make his worst culinary nightmare come true: an invasion of Europe by American “Frankenfoods.”

“Hormone-boosted beef. Chlorine-washed chicken. Genetically altered vegetables. This is what they want for us,” warned Cabaret, standing before his majestic herd of free-range cows. “In France, food is about pleasure, about taste. But in the United States, they put anything in their mouths. No, this must be stopped.”

In Europe, this is a season of angst — even paranoia — over a historic bid to link the United States and the 28-nation European Union in the world’s largest free-trade deal.

Passage of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could be a globalization milestone, creating a megamarket of 800 million consumers from Alaska to Finland, Hawaii to Greece. Import duties — many of which already are low — could be further reduced. More important, the deal could finally tackle nontariff barriers, including differing data-protection and food-safety standards that have long stood in the way of transatlantic commerce.

But even as time runs out for President Obama to sign a deal before leaving office, European and U.S. advocates have been surprised by the increasingly hostile reception on this side of the Atlantic. It is jeopardizing the chances of a deal that proponents say could create millions of new jobs by dramatically boosting U.S.-E.U. trade.

There is dissent in the United States, too, where some critics fear Washington may bargain away the “Buy American” clauses that give U.S. companies an edge in government contracts. But here in Europe, no single issue is inflaming the debate more than food — specifically U.S. calls for Europe to open its door to long-banned American foodstuffs that are hormone-treated, chemically sanitized or genetically modified.

Many European critics also are taking aim at other aspects of the deal — with the most strident opponents insisting it could usher in an era of American-style capitalism to Europe that puts corporations and consumerism above all else.

“With these talks, you are seeing the European fear of globalization turning into something more specific — a fear of America,” said Thomas Snégaroff, a French radio commentator and U.S. expert at the Paris-based Institute for Strategic and International Relations.

Leading European food safety authorities have determined that several U.S. practices in contention — such as sanitizing poultry in lightly chlorinated water — are safe. Yet increasingly, the debate here is not just about health but what European critics decry as “less natural” methods deployed by mass producers of food in the United States.

It is pitting science against food culture in places such as France, where gourmands are lamenting widespread industrialization on farms in the country and the growing practice of Paris bistros serving flash-frozen meals to unsuspecting diners. Letting in artificially treated U.S. foods, they warn, could water down French cuisine even more, leading to pool-scented chicken chunks served with flavorless sides of bionic broccoli.

“If this happens, if these U.S. foods come into Europe, we are talking about more than safety risks,” said gourmand and food writer Camille Labro. “You are afraid of food in the United States. You have to blast it with chemicals to kill all the bacteria. Don’t you know what that does to flavor? If we allow that kind of food here, we are talking about the death of taste.”

French opponents are staging events nationwide in which activists dressed as chickens are handing out fliers at grocery stores, calling all concerned citizens to town hall meetings aimed at “educating” society on the dangers of TTIP. That move comes after actors in chicken outfits in one French protest troupe — dubbed the “chicken brigade” — tried to “chlorinate themselves” in a public pool.

French President François Hollande has openly backed the trade deal. But in an interview with The Washington Post, Matthias Fekl, France’s new secretary of state for foreign trade, said he could not envision any deal that opens the door to controversial U.S. foods.

“This is about lifestyle, about way of life,” Fekl said. “Nothing will force us to expand entry into Europe of chlorinated chicken or hormone beef.”

In October, tens of thousands of people from 22 E.U. countries took to the streets to protest the deal. The protests included flash mobs in Belgium and a demonstration in Copenhagen that used a 24-foot Trojan horse to symbolize the hidden risks of the trade deal. Even in Britain — a nation hardly known for the glories of its national cuisine — fear and loathing of modified American foods, and the trade deal in general, appear to be running surprisingly strong.

In Europe, a certain brand of anti-Americanism is almost always just under the surface on the political left and the far right. But with the TTIP talks, at least some of those sentiments appear to be going mainstream. In parts of Europe, including Germany — a nation still smarting from revelations of U.S. spying — staunch opposition has built up around the possible inclusion of an investor-rights clause in TTIP.

Often viewed as almost perfunctory in trade deals, such clauses allow companies to take governments to arbitration if the companies think investor rights are being violated. But loud European critics insist that the provisions could give U.S. corporations the legal leverage they need to challenge everything from Europe’s high environmental standards to its universal health-care systems.

Such fears may not be as broadly held in Europe as opponents suggest. But their frequent public airing has made the debate over TTIP in Germany increasingly personal. During a recent skit on the popular “Heute-Show” — a sort of German version of “The Daily Show” — host Oliver Welke pretended to address the U.S. Congress.

Calling for an end to the trade talks, he quipped: “The dirt of your broken colony is spilling into Europe. We endured cheeseburgers, Halloween and ‘Baywatch,’ and our asses will soon be as big as those of your fat wives.”

He concluded with a statement in German that roughly translates as, “Why don’t you shove your free-trade agreement where the sun doesn’t shine?”

Bold part sounds about right

I really hope this doesn't go through for the sake of Europe.

Post: #2

Quote:our asses will soon be as big as those of your fat wives.”

Post: #3

Maybe this'll take those pussies down a notch.

Post: #4

I support Jean Cabaret's stance on this; I just don't want France to experience what the American corporate food industry is shoving down our throats.

Really, HFCS? Yuck and never mind the fact I still remember back in 2009 when it's laden with mercury.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...01831.html

Yes, it's a 2009 article.

Post: #5

They should be preaching to their own people then. French people love American food and line up for it. Expecting their government to intervene and protect them against themselves is the same as what feminists do in this country.

Not to mention, French food has already jumped the shark. Much of the bistro food in the cities is microwaved by Tunisian immigrants that can't cook worth a damn. I'd put any American fine dining restaurants against those in France, and ours are cheaper and often with equal or better ingredients.

It's a sad fact that most people are just mindless cattle that will gladly line up and sever ties to their own culture in exchange for the multinational corporate brands like KFC and McDonald's. That business about "The French eat for pleasure"...that's the attitude of the older generation, and it is true; that's the way it used to be and still is in many areas outside of Paris. The same thing is happening in many other European countries where young people would rather eat fast food or exotic food rather than their own rich and delicious cuisine. Add that to the fact that more women are working which eliminates the antiquated notion that a man might come home to a delicious platter of pot-au-feu or osso buco milanese, so he either has to fend for himself or follow the herd.

Post: #6

Once this deal goes through, can we export a few thousand fat girls and import a few thousand Polish babes?

Post: #7

France... isn't this the same country that banned paternity test?

I know it's off topic but I can't fucking stand french people. The men and women are insufferable.

Post: #8

French do not have the best record of defeating any invasion....

I am just sayin'....

Post: #9

(12-06-2014 04:46 AM)Glaucon Wrote:  French do not have the best record of defeating any invasion....

I am just sayin'....

Generally speaking, there are some serious bad spots on their military history in the last 150 yrs

Post: #10

France never recovered from the Napoleonic Wars and WWI, pretty much killed off all of their masculine men.

Post: #11

Our grandfathers imported freedom into that fucking country.

If you don't like our stuff, don't eat it, don't buy it, don't watch it, don't listen to it. And if you'd like to complain anyway, try doing it without a Mac/Windows computer, iPhone, Facebook, or Twitter account.

The free market is a competition, and the Europeans themselves create the demand for it.

Post: #12

(12-06-2014 04:46 AM)Glaucon Wrote:  French do not have the best record of defeating any invasion....

I am just sayin'....

I don't want to be a prick, because I know how fun it is to make fun of the French. And the thread's already been hijacked, so what the hell?

Do you think any other army in the world could have repelled Nazi Germany in 1939? Britain also effectively ran away during the Dunkirke evacuation. (Of course they more than made up for it with the Battle of Britain, national resolve, Winston Churchill, advancements in radar technology, insanely clever intelligence and counter-intelligence, breaking the Enigma code.......)

Quote:If you don't like our stuff, don't eat it, don't buy it, don't watch it, don't listen to it.

I'm all for the free market and free choice, but look what happens to USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia etc when people are given almost unlimited free choice. Then combine that with easy credit, too much leisure, few responsibilities, and the assurance that the state will back you up no matter how many times you fuck up. The same percentages of people from Anglo countries unable to practise self control will likely be the same as people from any other country unable to practise self control. I don't know how I feel about exporting broken cultures around the world, and food is a major part of any culture. It's like spreading smallpox to the Native Americans.

Post: #13

I'm disgusted by the news that France banned paternity testing.

A pretty little lie is still that, a pretty little lie.

The last line of defense against slooty women was removed. Apparently this also being contemplated in Germany.

Abso-fucking-lutely disgusting.

Post: #14

(12-06-2014 09:17 AM)frenchie Wrote:  I'm disgusted by the news that France banned paternity testing.

A pretty little lie is still that, a pretty little lie.

The last line of defense against slooty women was removed. Apparently this also being contemplated in Germany.

Abso-fucking-lutely disgusting.

In New Zealand it's only allowed with the mother's consent for children under 16, which means it's effectively banned. So if you had doubts, you could be legally required to provide for a child for 16 years before you could find out the truth. I thought it was the same in most western countries. Because god knows, if I had a kid, and I didn't need permission from the mum, I'd be getting that test straight away. I wonder if you get get DNA samples, post them to a lab overseas and find out that way?

Post: #15

(12-06-2014 09:10 AM)Horus Wrote:  I don't want to be a prick, because I know how fun it is to make fun of the French. And the thread's already been hijacked, so what the hell?

Do you think any other army in the world could have repelled Nazi Germany in 1939? Britain also effectively ran away during the Dunkirke evacuation. (Of course they more than made up for it with the Battle of Britain, national resolve, Winston Churchill, advancements in radar technology, insanely clever intelligence and counter-intelligence, breaking the Enigma code.......)

Of course not. I have no problem with the French, they had some bad ass things in the past, but lately they getting soft. (since, Napoleon)...

I live in Hungary, if you want to talk about a disaster in war I think it is hard to find any country worse than us. We have been invaded by the Mongols, the Turks, after that by the Austrians, and then the Germans, and finally the Soviets. After the First World War in the Treaty of Trianon Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory. Like a beaten old dog who is kicked by everyone who comes this way....Meh

/rant off

Post: #16

(12-06-2014 09:51 AM)Glaucon Wrote:  Of course not. I have no problem with the French, they had some bad ass things in the past, but lately they getting soft. (since, Napoleon)...

I live in Hungary, if you want to talk about a disaster in war I think it is hard to find any country worse than us. We have been invaded by the Mongols, the Turks, after that by the Austrians, and then the Germans, and finally the Soviets. After the First World War in the Treaty of Trianon Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory. Like a beaten old dog who is kicked by everyone who comes this way....Meh

/rant off

And you have this to ease your pain.

Post: #17

(12-06-2014 07:57 AM)Blick Mang Wrote:  Our grandfathers imported freedom into that fucking country.

Post: #18

(12-06-2014 09:57 AM)Horus Wrote:  

Post: #19

I'm disgusted. We should not be allowed to send our shitty food and GMO products over to Europe. Monsanto makes a big enough killing as it is without fucking up the rest of the world.

Post: #20

I hope this deal fails.

It wasn't until I moved to the Philippines that I realized how disgusting, fake and unhealthy American food is. The obesity crisis in this country stems from Monsanto and other agribusinesses shoving hormone-laden, corn-fed garbage down our throats, aided by government subsidies and the FDA looking the other way.

The first thing that hits you about food abroad is that it doesn't taste that good, even if it's high-quality. (Aaron Clarey complained about this during his road trip in Switzerland.) This is normal, because food is not supposed to taste that good. American food is artificially flavored to taste great, which encourages overeating and obesity.

The other thing about American food is that it's absolutely full of toxins and chemicals that impact your health. A week of cooking at home in the Philippines and I noticed that I mysteriously felt stronger, more alert and could lift better at the gym. All the garbage in American frankenfoods is keeping us in a state of low-level sickness, where we have enough energy to function on a day-to-day basis but not enough to be truly healthy.

If you Europeans are smart, you'll fight this trade deal like your lives depend on it... because they do. If fake American foods start flooding your continent, you're going to become the flabby, logy, brain-dead zombies that Americans are.

Post: #21

I used to eat constantly when I lived in Asia, everything was cheap and healthy, and I was in great shape. When I returned to the US I kept up that habit and grew a belly in 2 months. Now I've had to revamp my diet and hit the gym harder to get rid of it.

Post: #22

(12-06-2014 05:18 PM)Matt Forney Wrote:  I hope this deal fails.

It wasn't until I moved to the Philippines that I realized how disgusting, fake and unhealthy American food is. The obesity crisis in this country stems from Monsanto and other agribusinesses shoving hormone-laden, corn-fed garbage down our throats, aided by government subsidies and the FDA looking the other way.

The first thing that hits you about food abroad is that it doesn't taste that good, even if it's high-quality. (Aaron Clarey complained about this during his road trip in Switzerland.) This is normal, because food is not supposed to taste that good. American food is artificially flavored to taste great, which encourages overeating and obesity.

The other thing about American food is that it's absolutely full of toxins and chemicals that impact your health. A week of cooking at home in the Philippines and I noticed that I mysteriously felt stronger, more alert and could lift better at the gym. All the garbage in American frankenfoods is keeping us in a state of low-level sickness, where we have enough energy to function on a day-to-day basis but not enough to be truly healthy.

If you Europeans are smart, you'll fight this trade deal like your lives depend on it... because they do. If fake American foods start flooding your continent, you're going to become the flabby, logy, brain-dead zombies that Americans are.

Good point.

I tend to eat at McDonald's maybe once a month. It's not something I indulged in the past few years in the US but there isn't much international selection here, and sometimes I just need to find solace in something distinctly American. Also, they deliver 24 hours a day

I'm always blown away by how much better the food quality is compared the US, even at an American-based chain. The burgers don't look like they were pulled from someone's back pocket, the fries don't taste like they were cooked in a year's worth of pig fat.

Obviously the average, poor Filipino still eats like complete shit, and the US DOES have quality ingredients available (if you're willing to seek them out and pay considerably higher prices), it's just crazy to think that a developing country that's over populated, polluted, and without a sound infrastructure still has higher standards for their food on average.

Post: #23

(12-05-2014 10:27 PM)Veloce Wrote:  They should be preaching to their own people then. French people love American food and line up for it. Expecting their government to intervene and protect them against themselves is the same as what feminists do in this country.

Not to mention, French food has already jumped the shark. Much of the bistro food in the cities is microwaved by Tunisian immigrants that can't cook worth a damn. I'd put any American fine dining restaurants against those in France, and ours are cheaper and often with equal or better ingredients.

It's a sad fact that most people are just mindless cattle that will gladly line up and sever ties to their own culture in exchange for the multinational corporate brands like KFC and McDonald's. That business about "The French eat for pleasure"...that's the attitude of the older generation, and it is true; that's the way it used to be and still is in many areas outside of Paris. The same thing is happening in many other European countries where young people would rather eat fast food or exotic food rather than their own rich and delicious cuisine. Add that to the fact that more women are working which eliminates the antiquated notion that a man might come home to a delicious platter of pot-au-feu or osso buco milanese, so he either has to fend for himself or follow the herd.

I love France, it's a great country. Their women are fantastique. Even the 6's or 7's in France tend to have something about them that's increasingly hard to find in women from English-speaking countries - femininity.



Their men are chain-smoking, sarcastic, chauvinistic, world-class arseholes - but so am I, so I've always gotten along well with the French. Even in Paris, which has an undeserved reputation for rudeness, but which I've always found to be a friendlier and more pleasant city than London.

If you make a little effort to speak their language, French people seem to really appreciate it, even when your syntax is as mangled as mine.

But... their food isn't as great as they think it is. Maybe in the 80's they could still look down their noses at la cuisine Anglaise, but not any more - in part, thanks to the influence of French-trained chefs like Gordon Ramsey. You can find comparable or better restaurants in Britain or the US these days without too much trouble.

Anyway, the French love American stuff. McDo is as popular there as it is everywhere else. Hollywood movies are as ubiquitous in France as they are elsewhere in the world. They even have their own version of Elvis.



French people are happy to buy Americain, but naturally their farmers don't want them having a choice.

Post: #24

Living in France for the moment and I enjoy every bit of it, though I'm not at all happy about the state of americanization here. Burger King just opened a second outlet in Paris and lately it's been swarming with people. They also adopted Black Friday for the biggest electronic company.

Wouldn't be too hard on the French. Their women are wonderful. They are pretty and very slim, and very bitchy in a somewhat endearing way. I can't describe it. They are also extremely passionate creatures. It's actually pretty normal here to ONS a girl and she acts like she is your newly married wife, then you never see her again. It's that kind of uncontrolled passion that we all seek in women I think. They are also great with their scarf and accessories.

French guys are even bitchier than their women according to what I have seen. The coolest alpha guys I know here are from EE or Latin America. They are also very verbally aggressive so annoying as hell. They do tend to have a large number of "pretty boys" though. And they are very fashionable, something I try to learn from them.

In France the joke is "if you can't do anything, join the military".

Concerning paternity test, that's why marriage rates are dropping like flies in France. French people are very pragmatic, even the guys understand that anything you want from a marriage, you can get from a relationship. People here co-habit and have relationship spanning decades, that's normal.

I praise to dear almighty everyday that frankenfoods will not infect the beautiful female population here. French girls are cute but they owe it to their petite body shape and sense of style. Their face is ok, not as pretty as EE. So if obesity rises the French women are pretty much devastated. So far it hasn't been the case. A girl I went out with recently asked me how "you Americans can eat KFC? It's disgusting flour with no flavor at all!"

Post: #25

(12-06-2014 06:35 PM)SteveMcMahon Wrote:  

(12-05-2014 10:27 PM)Veloce Wrote:  They should be preaching to their own people then. French people love American food and line up for it. Expecting their government to intervene and protect them against themselves is the same as what feminists do in this country.

Not to mention, French food has already jumped the shark. Much of the bistro food in the cities is microwaved by Tunisian immigrants that can't cook worth a damn. I'd put any American fine dining restaurants against those in France, and ours are cheaper and often with equal or better ingredients.

It's a sad fact that most people are just mindless cattle that will gladly line up and sever ties to their own culture in exchange for the multinational corporate brands like KFC and McDonald's. That business about "The French eat for pleasure"...that's the attitude of the older generation, and it is true; that's the way it used to be and still is in many areas outside of Paris. The same thing is happening in many other European countries where young people would rather eat fast food or exotic food rather than their own rich and delicious cuisine. Add that to the fact that more women are working which eliminates the antiquated notion that a man might come home to a delicious platter of pot-au-feu or osso buco milanese, so he either has to fend for himself or follow the herd.

I love France, it's a great country. Their women are fantastique. Even the 6's or 7's in France tend to have something about them that's increasingly hard to find in women from English-speaking countries - femininity.



Their men are chain-smoking, sarcastic, chauvinistic, world-class arseholes - but so am I, so I've always gotten along well with the French. Even in Paris, which has an undeserved reputation for rudeness, but which I've always found to be a friendlier and more pleasant city than London.

If you make a little effort to speak their language, French people seem to really appreciate it, even when your syntax is as mangled as mine.

But... their food isn't as great as they think it is. Maybe in the 80's they could still look down their noses at la cuisine Anglaise, but not any more - in part, thanks to the influence of French-trained chefs like Gordon Ramsey. You can find comparable or better restaurants in Britain or the US these days without too much trouble.

Anyway, the French love American stuff. McDo is as popular there as it is everywhere else. Hollywood movies are as ubiquitous in France as they are elsewhere in the world. They even have their own version of Elvis.



French people are happy to buy Americain, but naturally their farmers don't want them having a choice.

You're the only other guy on the forum I've seen share my exact sentiments. The "French snobby asshole" stereotype is almost a caricature. When you've dealt with Americunts your whole life, who are GENUINE snobs and GENUINE assholes, these sweet, thin, feminine French girls almost seem like they're putting up an act in contrast. And if you do speak a little French they really appreciate it (with the occasional asshole pretending not to understand you)

When I was there last year, this was a popular look (shorts and leg socks) and I'm hoping it doesn't change anytime soon: