Vegemite ban or cheap shot at the US?
Well, I was waiting a bit to comment on the banning of Vegemite in the U.S. until the facts started coming out. It all started out with an article in Sunday’s Courier Mail by Kelvin Healey, which was taken from Danny Lannen’s article in the Geelong Advertiser. Online forums were on fire with the news of Vegemite being banned. Statements blaming Bush for the banning, comparisons with terrorist activities and many other over the top comments were written. There was even a petition site setup.
Well here are some things I have learned:
The FDA have blocked some Vegemite shipments (about 3) in the past but there are a number of stores online and off who will sell and have sold Vegemite in the past so there has to be more than 3 shipments coming in.
Kraft (owners of Vegemite) in Australia confirms that they can’t export Vegemite into the U.S.
On the other hand:
An Australian embassy spokeswoman said “From our perspective there is no food safety issue with Vegemite and we had been advised recently by US authorities that Vegemite was not of concern to them.”
The Age says, “Supermarkets in the US continue to stock Vegemite and have no plans to remove Australia’s iconic breakfast spread from their shelves.”
But the big question is will you get stopped for taking in Vegemite into the US? Apparently, out of all the articles reporting this story, only one person has been stopped at the Canadian border. Not anywhere else on the web have I seen an account of someone getting stopped for this Vegemite folate madness. In fact, I have been through the U.S. with Vegemite in hand with no problems.
So why is this story so big? Well, it’s the Today Tonight / ACA phenomenon where we take a small story and make it huge. A guy from Geelong got stopped for having Vegemite while crossing the Canadian/U.S. border. Danny Lannen writes a story that relates to Geelong in an odd story. Kevin Healey from The Courier Mail sees this story and decides to rewrite it and make it a big story in the Sunday paper. News.com.au publishes his story online, which is picked up by everyone including all the news outlets.
If you have ever watched Border Security, they often find people confiscating foods from their respective countries so why does an unsubstantiated story of banning Vegemite make such waves.
Aussies tend to poke fun at other countries, which is generally tolerable when talking about cricket or rugby. We have to condemn the Crounola riots and we have to be sensitive to the Lebanese community. Making fun of Asians or black people is not acceptable. But when it comes to slagging off the U.S., its acceptable. Even The Age had a cartoon today depicting an Osama Bin Laden sign next to a Vegemite Kid sign. Is it funny comparing a mass murderer to someone who possesses Vegemite? This story is a poor excuse to find another reason to hate the U.S. Whether it’s a fight over women on a beach or a fight over Vegemite, it shows that there will never be harmony between races or nationalities here. The media will continue to push its agenda whether for political reasons or for monetary benefit.
Sorry for the rant and I hope it makes sense. What say you?
Update:
Straight from the horse’s mouth. News.com.au reports “There is no ban on Vegemite,” US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesman Mike Herndon said
Update 2:
Paul Watkins from About Australia (the guy interviewed in the original article) responded to my email about this controversy.
“It would now seem it will be OK for us to continue to import Vegemite.”
Update 3:
From the comments: Helen says: Aaah but the one person who claims to have been stopped and searched for vegemite at the border happened to be Daniel Fogarty, a former reporter for the Geelong Advertiser (part of the News Ltd stable). Funny that, especially considering other quotes in follow-up articles come from Bernie Slattery “a blogger” who happens to be sub-editor at the Geelong Advertiser. See a common theme here?
I say I went to the store (in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, USA) and got some Marmite, just in case.
Oh, we hear you here in America. I think it’s hilarious when Aussies go on about how much more refined and intelligent they are compared to us sloven and Bush-electing Americans, and then they go all conspiratorial and over-the-top about a poorly researched article in what appears to me to be a fairly low-quality Australian daily paper.
The facts are slowly coming out. The FDA hasn’t banned the importation of vegemite. The whole “folate” thing is ludicrious; the law in question requires folic acid be added to baked goods, not govern what it can and can’t be added to.
And as for customs seizing jars from travelers… has it hit anyone that we still have a ban on taking gels and liquids on American planes? Isn’t vegemite a paste? I mean, look, the TSA seized a jar of blackberry jam from my mother-in-law a couple months ago. Why would you think vegemite would be allowed through while jam isn’t?
And every store in metro Seattle that sells vegemite (there aren’t a lot of them) still has it on the shelf. Well, except where nervous Aussies have hoarded it. Whole Foods still had it last I checked.
Americans love Aussies. We may think it’s all kangaroos, Fosters, Paul Hogan, Aussie Rules football, and the Crocodile Hunter 24/7, but we do love you guys. And even if we think vegemite is the most disgusting thing on the planet, we’re not going to stop you from bringing it in the country and eating it.
Just tell everyone to stop acting like urban legend spreading old people, and we’ll have you over for some Rocky Mountain oysters served with whatever flavorless liquid we’re calling beer this week.
Oh, that link to my article on the jam didn’t get picked up:
http://seattle.metblogs.com/archives/2006/09/seatac_security.phtml
I prefer Marmite so I was all in support of this move by the US ;)
Can I post a Vegemite tube, that I can get in the “Aussie survivial pack” at most post offices? ;-)
Vegemite should be included in any care packages for any Aussie abroad!:)Together with Tim Tams, etc.
Aaah but the one person who claims to have been stopped and searched for vegemite at the border happened to be Daniel Fogarty, a former reporter for the Geelong Advertiser (part of the News Ltd stable). Funny that, especially considering other quotes in follow-up articles come from Bernie Slattery “a blogger” who happens to be sub-editor at the Geelong Advertiser. See a common theme here?
Was he carrying the tube of “Vegemite” up his ass
‘cos if an anal probe was involved
this’s a completely different storey.
Laurie
RIGHT - Considering the amount of US Foods that are banned from being imported into Australia, this is ridiculous. I would challenge these ‘journalists’ to stop the pseudo-outrage and petty naval gazing and find something serious to complain about. Vegemite? Right…
Agreed. Once again the Aussie media go nuts over any story that portrays Americans as idiots. As an American that’s been here a year, there are several US goods that are outlawed for Australia importation, but you don’t see us complaining about it.
The truth is…Americans love Aussies. That’s the entire reason that I live in Australia today.
Paul Watkins from About Australia (the guy interviewed in the original article) responded to my email about this controversy.
“It would now seem it will be OK for us to continue to import Vegemite.”
@Helen, You comment about the relationship of Daniel Fogarty, Bernie Slattery and the Geelong Advertiser is spot on. Very convenient.
@Melissa, Didnt even think about that. What American products are banned from Australia?
@Laurie, Your comments are as always great.
Awe, shucks mate you’re making me blush….
Laurie