Brits would much rather have a closer economic relationship with EU than US

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Boris has had but one mission his entire life; himself. To paraphrase Walter Sobchak “Say what you will about Corbynisn, at least it’s an ethos!”
 
PickyPicky said:
So where did stones come in for weight? That’s one that didn’t translate to the US.
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Oh, ancient things, stones be. And of course you need something to divide up your hundredweights with. And naturally in the imperial system a hundredweight isn’t a hundred anythings, it’s a hundred and twelve. All makes perfect sense.
 
PickyPicky said:
All makes perfect sense.
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😂😂😂. Suuuuure it does! Can I say I weight 3 stone if I’m thinking of large ones? 😂😂😂 Is there a reference stone somewhere? Is this where potheads got the saying, “I’m soooo stoned”. Asking for a friend.
 
none were myths, they were ‘regulated’

What’s worse is that bad bananas were ill defined (how much bend is too much), which I assume means an inspector had the power to decide compliance?

So it was a regulation, and it was poorly done

en.wikipedia.org

Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2257/94 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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Theo520 said:
none were myths, they were ‘regulated’
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But there was no “ban” on ‘bendy bananas’ or indeed on bananas of any shape as the myth you cited goes. Just the introduction of a new price classification.

One can certainly debate the merits of this or that regulation but to claim that the creation of a grading system amounted to a ban is quite wrong.
 
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Vouthon said:
But there was no “ ban ” on ‘bendy bananas’ or indeed on bananas of any shape as the myth you cited goes. Just the introduction of a new price classification.

One can certainly debate the merits of this or that regulation but to claim that the creation of a grading system amounted to a ban is quite wrong.
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If bendy bananas were excluded from classification, how is that not a defacto ban? And why was a regulation even needed on this?

Yes, it’s a good example of over regulation by the EU.
 
And they do have a reference stone! And they even made it purdy 😂
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Theo520 said:
If bendy bananas were excluded from classification, how is that not a defacto ban?
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See:

www.theguardian.com

Is the EU really dictating the shape of your bananas?

Boris Johnson says EU laws about vacuum cleaners and bananas are ‘crazy’. We take a look at whether he is right
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
Bananas have always been classified by quality and size for international trade. Because the standards, set by individual governments and the industry, were confusing, the European Commission was asked to draw up new rules.

Commission regulation 2257/94 decreed that bananas in general should be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”. Those sold as “extra class” must be perfect, “class 1” can have “slight defects of shape” and “class 2” can have full-scale “defects of shape”.

Nothing is banned under the regulation, which sets grading rules requested by industry to make sure importers – including UK wholesalers and supermarkets – know exactly what they will be getting when they order a box of bananas.
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Vouthon said:
Ah, the good ole “ bendy banana ban ”.
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I urge you to respond to what I actually post, and not make up quotes from me that you can engage in a strawman battle with.

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The law itself is here and contains these lines:
QUALITY STANDARDS FOR BANANAS I. DEFINITION OF PRODUCE

This standard applies to bananas of the varieties (cultivars) of Musa (AAA) spp., Cavendish and Gros Michel subgroups, referred to in Annex II, for supply fresh to the consumer after preparation and packaging. Plantains, bananas intended for industrial processing and fig bananas are not covered.
…

free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers
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So, the standards do indeed say that excessively bendy bananas may not be sold for human consumption, but can be for industrial processing. So something is banned under the regulation: excessively bendy bananas being sold for direct human consumption.

However, that’s not actually what the problem with this is. The problem is that this regulation has the force of law. It is, in theory, possible that someone could be prosecuted for selling bendy (OK, too bendy ) bananas for human consumption. And who in heck wants to live in a legal system that would allow that sort of nonsense? Well, obviously, the people who write the laws for the European Union, that’s who, and there is our problem.
 
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Theo520 said:
So, the standards do indeed say that excessively bendy bananas may not be sold for human consumption,
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With all due respect, I honestly don’t read a ban in the parts of the legislation you have referenced.

The Commission Regulation (EC) 2257/94 created a price grading system. In the case of “Extra class” bananas, there is no wiggle room, but Class 1 bananas can have “slight defects of shape”, and Class 2 bananas can have full-on “defects of shape”.

None of them are “banned”. They are simply being classified according to quality, size and shape.

The provisions relating to shape apply fully only to bananas sold as Extra class; defects of shape are permitted in Class I and Class II bananas.

Classification, not ban.

I think the Forbes article you quoted above is wrong in it’s interpretation.
 
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The alleged Prawn cocktail crisps “ban” from Boris Johnson is another example:

https://eu-awareness.eu/euromyths/
  • Newspaper Headline 2. ‘EU Bans Prawn Cocktail Crisps’
Boris Johnson (UK MP) wrote in 2002, some of his “most joyous hours” had been spent composing “foam-flecked hymns of hate to the latest Euro-infamy”, the first on the list was his fictitious story where the EU bans prawn cocktail crisps.

Except that the EU never banned the crisps. The EU informs us that this palaver was the result of an error by the UK government, which failed to include prawn cocktail when asked to send a list of flavourings and sweeteners in current use to the EU, which was drafting a harmonised EU-wide list. When the mistake was spotted, the information was provided by the UK government and the list was amended.

But this hasn’t stopped Johnson from getting angry about it. As recently as March 2018, the former London mayor cited the “great war against the British prawn cocktail flavour crisp” as part of his evidence of Brussels-gone-mad and a reason he was campaigning to leave.
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Theo520 said:
If bendy bananas were excluded from classification, how is that not a defacto ban?
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USDA has prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, and utility grades of beef.
Grading a meet as “choice” not “prime” is not a de facto ban on its sale. Neither is grading it utility. But it is good for the consumer to be able to know what the grade is, and good for retailers to know what grades customers will buy.
 
Is UK like 2,500 miles closer to Europe? This article gets a “big deal” rating.

What if Americans were asked, how much they’d rather have a “closer relationship” with Canada or Mexico than the UK??
 
Any nation can only survive if enough of it’s free citizens have common bond and trust in their fellow citizens to allow it to continue.

Clearly in the EU this has been and remains an open question.

We saw in the former USSR that eventually a centralized ruling class supported by people adhering to and benefitting from their laws will give way to a larger group of people who wish to organise themselves around common bonds and trust.

You can wish that away, denigrate such people and even like the USSR and China persecute them but that is the ultimate political destination.

Trying to destroy religion and national culture in an effort to get people to accept a top down centralization of power based on humanist values flowing from an entrenched political class will not lead to the Nirvana some wish for.

God seems to let humans go their own way and learn the lessons by sufferring from the consequences of their choices. Some of us do not want to suffer these mistakes any more.

I believe that at some point in our human history enough of us will learn that.
 
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The age of “nothing is true and everything is possible” is upon us.
 
What is particularly important with agricultural products from a consumer point of view is that it should be very clear as to their origins.
 
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