My main complaint about adopting names is when you make a cheese that is not representative of the original. Brie is a fantastic example. Especially in the US, "Brie" cheese is *nothing* like actual Brie cheese. I suppose it's not that important since Brie cheese is illegal to sell in the US (as a short aged, raw milk cheese), but the confusion is frustrating. For some cheeses, I would argue that there is genuine harm, though. Cotija is a Mexican cheese that is made by incredibly poor people (to the point where many creameries don't even have walls). Large US producers make a cheese that is called "Cotija", but that only superficially resembles actual Cotija cheese. The downside is that the average US cheese fan would likely not even recognise actual Cotija cheese if it was available in the store. Given the popularity of the cheese's name, this is basically taking food out of poor people's mouths. They can't sell their cheeses because the name of their cheese has been appropriated.
Obviously, as home cheese makers we aren't involved in such serious issues. However, I do respect people make an effort to help people understand the difference between an homage to a famous cheese and the real thing. I was pretty pissed about how Grana Padano lawyers treated Gavin Webber. However, I was also pretty uncomfortable with his unfortunate belief that his "Grana Padano" recipe was anywhere close to the mark. To be frank, he often makes a cheese from a recipe that he's cobbled together and somehow believes that it is representative of the original. In many ways it is helpful for promoting his channel while unhelpful in educating people about cheese. I completely owe my start in this hobby to him, but I have mixed feelings about some of the things he does.
Sorry for going off topic again :-P
