What a great country, France! From the NYT:

The importance of terroir to the French psyche and self-image is difficult to overestimate, because it is a concept almost untranslatable, combining soil, weather, region and notions of authenticity, of genuineness and particularity — of roots, and home — in contrast to globalized products designed to taste the same everywhere.

Though related to the farm-to-table and locavore movements of a new generation, terroir is not about proximity, but about honesty and community, an idea even more important to a France that fears losing its identity in a larger Europe and a competitive world.

More about the most excellent Galaup family:

Oysters, too, are thought to have a terroir — the same breed from the waters of Ireland will not taste the same as those from Normandy or Marennes-Oléron, the way the same breed of asparagus will taste differently, says the chef Yannick Alléno, if grown in Vallauris, near Cannes, or in California. “This is where terroir expresses itself,” he said.

The notion of terroir is essentially political, at heart a conservative, even right-wing idea, even though it has been picked up by a new generation that would consider itself on the left, opposing globalization and pesticides. It’s not just about organic farming or locavores, since authentic products of terroir can come from far away.

Alain Ducasse, the renowned chef-entrepreneur, said in an interview that “the terroirs, it’s our gastronomy” — the diverse heart of all French cuisine, which “must be preserved jealously.” Viewed from abroad, he said, “it can seem complicated, but it is this diversity that provides all our riches, our strength.”

The Galaups live in an ancient farmhouse, parts of which date from the 17th century, with their young children, Camille, Jérémie and Corentin; his father, Jacques; his grandmother Lucette and her sister, Tatie, who tend to wear matching plaid housecoats. They dine around a worn wooden table, with a bench for seating; they eat largely what they grow and drink their own wine, or that of neighbors here in the Gaillac, much of it made from the seven varieties of a local grape, Mauzac.

And:

There are similar concerns about the extinction of the

many varieties of French cheese. As confusing and wondrous as they are, there is general moaning over the growing preference of price-conscious French consumers for pasteurized, industrial cheeses picked up in the supermarket. In 1979, France had 20,000 cheese shops. Now the figure is about 3,000, and only about 7 percent of French cheese is made from raw milk.

Jean-Claude Ribaut, a food critic for Le Monde, called terroir “a sort of lost paradise.” But it also stands for a reaction to modernity, he said: “One could say it’s a vision a bit backward-looking, but it’s also, I think, a battle of today, to try to safeguard what gives us pleasure and health.”

Read the whole thing, avec plaisir. Is there any wonder why Votre Jeune Travailleur sees France as a crunchy con paradise? Yes, the French are arrogant, but they have much to be arrogant about. Besides, it’s their cultural pride that keeps France France. May they never change.

But despair not, ye Anglophiles! A British family is celebrating the same thing in their own country. The Bradshaws of Kent are living only on British-made or grown products for a year. Excerpt:

The unusual idea came about last Christmas, when Emily was put off doing her present shopping on Amazon, because of news reports about its tax avoidance schemes. Instead, she bought all her gifts from independent retailers. “I started thinking: how far can you stretch this?” explains James. “We’re going through one of the toughest times we’ve had, financially, as a family – so what’s the solution? It’s not just about buying British, it’s about investing in our community; in our neighbours; in the people we know.”

Now just over halfway through their British year, the Bradshaws have been overwhelmed by the support, both locally and nationally, they’ve had for their project. To celebrate, today they will host a British Family Fayre, a free day out for 10,000 visitors in their local village, rather aptly the former home of Winston Churchill. From Padstow pasta-makers to Kent toothbrush-manufacturers, hundreds of home-grown companies will exhibit their wares, alongside Highland pipers, shire horses, baking demonstrations and an auction for the Prince’s Trust.