French groups argue against using the term "biofuels"
The French Federation of Bio Agriculture (FNAB) is currently lobbying the French senate to forbid using the prefix "bio" when referring to fuels made from plant matter. Bear in mind that, in France, E85 is called bioéthanol and then there's biodiesel. The reason for the suggestion is a recent EU directive that says that the preffix "bio" can only be used for products that have been produced using natural procedures and are free of pesticides and chemicals. Therefore, the FNAP argues, ethanol and biodiesel should be simply be called agrofuels. Specifically, agro-ethanol and agro-diesel. FNAB says the shift will protect consumers, who may think that "bio" identifies certified chemical-free products. [Source: Actualité News Environment]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt 8:39PM (6/17/2009)
Oh, France... You and your nomenclature. You can't call sweet wine with bubbles champagne if it's not from the champagne region (and they'll destroy violating bottles), you don't want to say "Internet" because it's not French enough. What now?
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Chris M 10:02PM (6/17/2009)
Typical French xenophobia. They can't stand foreign words in their language, so whenever a new technology arrives, they have to develop special "French Only" words and forbid those nasty foreign terms. So VCRs become "Magnetoscopes" and computers become "Logicel Numeratiques".
The end result is to make French an increasingly irrelevant language, especially compared to English, a polyglot language that has the elan to incorporate foreign words with nary a quibble.
crazy 10:22PM (6/17/2009)
@matt
Biological exist in both language so you might want to re-read the article particularly that part : "The reason for the suggestion is a recent EU directive that says that the preffix "bio" can only be used for products that have been produced using natural procedures and are free of pesticides and chemicals."
Matt 11:24PM (6/17/2009)
@crazy
I read the article, and am aware that the word biological exists in some form in both languages. Clearly you missed my point, especially my referance to the legalistic view of naming wine in France. Furthermore, the use of "bio" as a prefix meaning "chemical-free" is a relatively recent marketing fad, and it does not change the true meaning of the word no matter what language you speak. Constricting its use is tantamount to burning books.
marwin 6:30AM (6/18/2009)
in europe, "bio" marks exactly what would be labeled organic in north america. maybe it does make sense to use it carefully. i mean if you saw a sign "organic diesel" at your gas station, what would you think? it is a bit confusing and misleading.
and come on now, burning books is a very different thing.
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Matt 8:35AM (6/18/2009)
The government telling me how I can and can not use a word is effectively taking away my freedom of speech. It's not as if "biological" is a proper noun, something that could be trademarked. The originator of that word has long since passed and the meaning of the word fits the description of the fuel. Ethanol and bio-diesel are both made from plants, which are in fact biological materials. If anything, use of the prefix bio in reference to a substance being pesticide and "chemical-free" is the one at fault since nothing about the word biological, biology, or any other derivative of the word alludes to that meaning. If they want to show their product is free of unnatural chemicals they should explicitly state that on the label, not restrict the use of a perfectly good word for the sake of advertising.
guyledouche 9:13AM (6/18/2009)
Matt, you must be extremely bored to keep rambling on about this stupid topic. Get back to work mate!
DasBoese 2:12PM (6/18/2009)
An EU directive doesn't mean jack shit until it has been made into national legislation.
And I strongly suspect that'll restrict use of the "bio" label only for food products, as is the intention of the EU legislation and how most of the other states have handled it.
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