Dear Martyn
I am afraid I do not have the technical or administrative
knowledge to respond to your questions with any certainty. However, I
understand that the part of the gut used for string making with sheep
gut may not be in danger of being infected with prions from Scrapies,
whereas there is some potential danger from BSE in the part of the beef
gut used for strings; although this would doubtfully be of any danger
for string makers or gut users. I suppose no loop-holes may be left in
the law, in case products might somehow get into the food chain (but
this is just my supposititon).
I imagine that string makers need the possibility of using beef gut, in
case as happened previously, sheep gut production is lost through foot
and mouth. There is a need of a steady stable supply.
I imagine that unsalted beef strips might be in danger, or banned or
perhaps never used (but not sure about this).
%
I can't answer about whether this would mean one beef gut production
unit, but at present I believe there is only one functioning in
Ireland. It could mean there is only one with full support from the EU.
It could mean that all beef gut should go through a centralized secure
unit, wherever it comes from. I aggree that this is not clear, but at
present there, was no competition, as most producers were being closed
down by the EU rulings, there remaining only one unit (I believe). This
is the process that killed Sofracob. Rather than all units being
closed, it would be preferable that at least one remains open, but I
agree that it would be better for more to be opened.
%
Competition and Creativity (a side debate engaging only myself):
It is clear that the market can't be completely free where severe
danger of epidemic might result; I do hope that the right balance can
be struck, There do have to be controls, but I aggree that where there
is no danger, controlls should lead to constraints on creativity.
%
However, personally, I would hold creativity as more important than
competitiveness. I do not believe that competition always leads to the
best quality winning, it is often then cheapest, worst quality that
seems to win out (see the failure of Betamax and DAT, and the success
of MP3).
As examples of quality without competition, some people would hold that
the best bottled beers are made by Trappist Belgian monks, and Czech
state controlled and funded breweries, both funtioning completely
outside general competition.
Well, that is just my reflexion, and does not engage anyone else
partaking in this debate.
Best regards
Anthony
--- En date de : Mer 21.12.11, Martyn Hodgson
<[email protected]> a A(c)crit :
De: Martyn Hodgson <[email protected]>
Objet: [LUTE] Re: [LUTE] "Gut string petition reaches the EU Level"
AEUR: [email protected], "Anthony Hind" <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Date: Mercredi 21 dA(c)cembre 2011, 10h56
Thank you for this Anthony.
It looks reasonably hopeful if not all a bit bureaucratic as might
be
expected. But I think a couple of areas need close watching:
1. I note that in the measures the 'Technical Commission (TC)' is to
consider over the coming months (years?) it only mentions 'beef gut
in
salted strips' - does this mean that sheep gut (or unsalted beef
strips) or any other gut is still in danger of a ban or that they
are
already free from such a restriction?
2. Further, is the TC really suggesting that only one gut processing
unit will be allowed in the entire EU? This seems a distintly
retrograde step (and even one against the much vaunted ambition of
free
and open competition across the borders of the single market).
Good to see Mimmo's name there.
regards
Martyn
--- On Wed, 21/12/11, Anthony Hind <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Anthony Hind <[email protected]>
Subject: [LUTE] "Gut string petition reaches the EU Level"
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Date: Wednesday, 21 December, 2011, 8:29
Dear lutenists
Following the Italian government's acceptance of the main
points
of our petition, a meeting took place in Brussels at the EU level.
After a long and technically difficult discussion the follwing
results
were achieved, as described here in a message from the petition
organisers. The organisers therefore wish to thank once again all
those
who signed or supported the petition (see their message below):
Regards
Anthony
%
Dear friends and signatories of the European petition,
We have finally received wonderful news from Brussels,
with
all the details that we want to tell you. Thanks to the interest
shown
by Mr. Rinaldi and Mr. Berlato, Members of Parliament, our petition
has resulted in two parliamentary questions which, together with the
echo given by the press to our case, and the active support of
leading
personalities in the field of Early Music, attracted the attention
of
senior officials in the European Union, particularly those in the
Department of Food and Animal Health.
%
These officials understanding the urgency of the matter, made
themselves available in order to set up a Technical Commission, on
the
issue of safeguarding the Art of String Making, with the firm
intention
of confronting and resolving the problem once and for all.
%
In the committee were present: Matjaz Klemencic Sign (Policy
Officer for Animal health - European Commission, Health and
Consumers,
Directorate-general), Martial Plantady (Legislative Officer - Food
hygiene, Alert Systems and Training, European Commission health and
consumers, Directorate-general) Mimmo Peruffo (Stringmaker and
researcher), Dmitry Badiarov (Luthier and musician) Geert
Robberechts
(La Petite Bande, manager), SaA-d El Khadraoui (Belgian MEP).
%
Thanks to these contacts with EU representatives who are
directly
concerned in law making, we have been able to obtain strong
guarantees
which represent the first-ever recognition of the existence of the
trade
category of String makers at the European level and the first
comprehensive legislative protection of their work. Very briefly,
the
contents of the measures which will be released in the coming months
are as
follows:
%
1) harmonization of the rules governing the exchange and /
or
import of raw material for string-makers (beef gut in salted strips)
inside and outside the European Union;
%
2) establishment of a production unit of high quality raw
material under EU protection in European territory. This unique
center
will provide the raw material required to support the production of
all
string makers in Europe and will be backed up by appropriate
incentives, both economic and
technical;
%
3)the resolution of a specific and simplified health
regulation
established for European string making companies (which are still
required to acquire the status of Authorized Technical Plant).
%
We, the administrators of this page feel very satisfied both
with the achievements of the petition, initially for string making
in
Italy, but now for string making in the whole of the EU. We
therefore
wish to thank you again, as we did on the previous occasion, for
your
active participation in promoting our petitions and we encourage you
to
continue spreading the culture of the String Making Art, promoting
all
moves in its favour and freely informing us about any new
initiatives
through our facebook page or our newly created blog "Amor Cordis!"
([1][1]http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/) which aims to be a virtual
platform for collecting any new cultural data on the topic of
historical gut strings.
%
[2][2]http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/2011/12/amor-cordis-uno-spazio-
cultur
ale.html
%
The European petition is therefore officially closed starting from
today, Tuesday, December 13 at 22.45, with 2584
signatures.
To get on or off this list see list information at
[3][3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. [4]http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/
2.
[5]http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/2011/12/amor-cordis-uno-spazio-cultur
ale.html
3. [6]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/
2. http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/2011/12/amor-cordis-uno-spazio-cultur
3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html
4. http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/
5.
http://amorcordis.blogspot.com/2011/12/amor-cordis-uno-spazio-culturale.html
6. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html
