One, you can't deny that what you stated before is still a swindle. Selling something to someone that is a lie, to bilk them out of their money, is flat out wrong.

Meh. Maybe. I honestly don't really care. At the echelon of society who can afford and pay for Kobe beef, an extra $20-$30/steak doesn't even register on their radar. When you order a $90 steak, and a $280 bottle of wine, I honestly couldn't give a shit if you overpaid a couple of bucks.

Rich people do this shit constantly. It's what keeps their money flowing into the economy. Francois Hollande's $11,000 monthly haircut? Is it worth it? No. But he pays it anyway.

Giving $1.2m to the "Church" of Scientology so Xenu will teleport you to another planet, or some shit? Total bullshit. But rich people pay for it.

So... back to my point... so what if a rich person pays $90 for Kobe beef, but can't tell the difference between the Wagyu they actually got, and the Kobe they paid for?

Your passionate belief that names mean something and have some intrinsic value is, frankly, adorable. Hold on to that! And don't ever work in a restaurant. You'll find out that names mean very little, when it comes down to the food on your plate.

The only valuable measure is, "Am I happy I paid $90 for this steak?"

That is the only relevant issue.

If someone pays good money for Kobe beef and expect that Kobe beef, they better get Kobe beef.

If this fantasy of the "value of a name" is that important to you, stay far away from the practical side of the food industry, then. As this article points out, no matter what you buy - beef, cheese, wine, olive oil - you rarely get what is on the label, due to many factors.

It is the fact of industrial food production. Be good with it, or not, but taking the stance "you should get what you ordered in the restaurant" was unattainable 50 years ago, and is only more true today.