PHOTOS: Olive oil production affected by financial crisis in Greece
February 24, 2014
In this Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 photo, Nikos Kolovos works on an olive grove in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
Olives lie on a canvas tarp used for collection in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Greece remains the highest consumer of olive oil per capita in the world despite the country's ongoing financial crisis. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
Workers gather olives at an olive grove in Anthonas village, about 340 kilometers (211 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. The Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is advising Greece allow the sale of olive oil blended with other vegetable oils in Greek supermarkets to make the industry more competitive. The practice is currently banned by law. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
In this Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013 photo, Dimitris Apostolopoulos, collects olives at an olive grove in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
Nikos Kolovos works on an olive grove in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Harvesting starts in October and finishes at the end of January. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
Greek Orthodox Priest Dimitris Vlasopoulos collects olives from a canvas tarp in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Widespread ownership of olive groves among Greeks has helped maintain supplies to households as they struggle through a sixth year of recession. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
Dimitris Apostolopoulos climbs a tree for harvesting at an olive grove in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013. The economic crisis has seen a return of Greeks to farm work in recent years, after abandoning fields for years and using migrant labor. He received half of the olive oil produced from his collection as payment. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
Dimitris Apostolopoulos collects olives at an olive grove in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013. The economic crisis has seen a return of Greeks to farm work in recent years, after abandoning fields for years and using migrant labor. He received half of the olive oil produced from his collection as payment. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
From left to right, Asimina Nikolopoulou, Tasos Nikolopoulos, Greek Orthodox Priest Dimitris Vlasopoulos, and Yiannis Nikolopoulos, have a picnic in an olive grove in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Widespread ownership of olive groves among Greeks has helped maintain supplies to households as they struggle through a sixth year of recession. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
In this picture taken Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, pruned olive trees catch the sunlight in a field outside Antirrio, in western Greece. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
Smoke from burning olive twigs obscures workers in an olive grove in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Monday, Dec. 2, 2013. Traditionally, trees are trimmed and the twigs are burned at the start of spring, but many people who are based in the big cities burn the twigs after harvest to avoid another trip to the grove in March. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
In this Monday, Dec. 2, 2013 photo, Vasiliki Bourou, right, a private sector employee who lives in Athens, collects olives with relatives at a family olive grove in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
A worker holds harvested olives in his hands in Antonas village, about 340 kilometers (211 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. The economic crisis has seen a return of Greeks to farm work in recent years, after abandoning the fields for years and using migrant labor. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
In this Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 photo, Nikos Kolovos pulls leaves from olives gathered in a net in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
Workers transport sacks of olives in Anthonas village, about 340 kilometers (211 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Greece is the world's third largest producer of olive oil and its leading consumer per capita, with a millennia-old tradition that still serves as a strong link between city dwellers and their rural ancestry. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
Workers on a nightshift in an olive grove prepare sacks of olives for transport to a family-owned oil production plant in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013. The Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is advising Greece allow the sale of olive oil blended with other vegetable oils in Greek supermarkets to make the industry more competitive. The practice is currently banned by law. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
Pensioner Panagiotis Avramopoulos leans on a trolley as he waits for his olive oil to be produced at a family-owned oil production plant in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013. Greece is the world's third largest producer of olive oil and its leading consumer per capita, with a millennia-old tradition that still serves as a strong link between city dwellers and their rural ancestry. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
A Romanian worker unloads sacks of olives at a family-owned olive oil production plant in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013. The Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is advising Greece allow the sale of olive oil blended with other vegetable oils in Greek supermarkets to make the industry more competitive. The practice is currently banned by law. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
In this Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013 photo, Christos Vasilopoulos operates machinery as olives are loaded onto a conveyor belt at a family-owned olive oil business in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
In this Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013 photo, Konstantinos Vasilopoulos operates a machine that washes olives at his family-owned olive oil business in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
In this picture taken on, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, olive mill worker Sakis Vasilopoulos fills a can of olive oil at his family business in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
In this picture taken on, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, olive oil exporter Vasilis Tsaousis fills a bottle from a vat containing extra virgin olive oil, at his storage site near Pyrgos in southern Greece. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
In this picture taken on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, employee Pantelis Diamantis checks bottles of extra virgin olive oil, at Gaea Products plant in Agrinio, western Greece. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
In this Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013 photo, a bottle of olive oil stands on a kitchen counter as pensioner Toula Tsagaroulia enters her home in Velanidi village, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Athens, Greece. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil )
Workers transport sacks of olives in Anthonas village, about 340 kilometers (211 miles) west of Athens, Greece on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Greece is the world's third largest producer of olive oil and its leading consumer per capita, with a millennia-old tradition that still serves as a strong link between city dwellers and their rural ancestry. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ( Greece Olive Oil Photo Essay )
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