Grafting Sustainable Values Together with Geographical Indications in Norway

The link between the system for Geographical Indications (GIs) and sustainability has been on the international and European agenda for more than 30 years. Recently, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has published reports on the importance of increasing sustainability in GI systems. The pillars of sustainable practices that are suggested to be adapted locally are: environmental integrity, social well-being, economic resilience, and good governance (FAO, 2024:3). Several international producer associations holding GIs have already implemented methods in accordance with the pillars launched by FAO, and in February 2025 FAO will host a conference with a primary focus on "Innovation for Sustainability" in GI systems. This international development is also reflected in recent changes to EU regulations on GIs, which from spring 2024 will allow producers to document sustainable practices and include these in product specifications.

Despite the international attention an effort to combine the system of GIs with sustainability measures, the integration of sustainability into the Norwegian system for GIs remains underexplored by national authorities and researchers. This paper aims to fill this gap by addressing the food cultural conditions for how Norwegian GIs, traditionally focused on place-based specificity and cultural preservation, can be adapted to include broader sustainability objectives, and how the scheme can be adapted to the Norwegian food culture.

The analysis highlights the importance of adaptive strategies and practices in food cultural adaptation work (Hegnes 2023) in the scaling of alternative food initiatives. It also considers challenges, particularly regarding standardization, which could risk weakening regional identities and the distinctiveness of local food cultures. Another possible unintended consequence that will be discussed is food labeling cannibalization (Hegnes 2023).

FAO & oriGIn. (2024) Developing a roadmap towards increased sustainability in geographical indication systems. Rome.

Hegnes, AW (2023) Food Cultures and Geographical Indications in Norway. London, Routledge.