Greek olive oil woes echo country’s broader economic challenges

Greece is in the fifth year of a painful recession, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon. One big problem the country faces is a shortage of strong companies that know how to compete on the world market. And nowhere is this more painfully apparent than in the challenges faced by the country’s olive oil business. In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena gave the olive tree to the Greeks to win their loyalty. And ever since, they’ve taken their olive oil very seriously. Greeks say their olive oil is the best in the world. But how do you define Greek?