I am not a chest-thumper or a flag-waver.
my idea of being patriotic involves trying to support Australian industries, products, and businesses. that is the best way of helping not only our economy, but people, wage and living standards, and The Australian Way of Life Goddammit(TM). who gives a rat's about the national anthem or the flag? they're nice enough (well, maybe you could take out the Union Jack, but that's another post), but there are other fish to fry.
so this... oooh this sort of thing gets me all fired up.
San Miguel recently bought National Foods and Berri Juices. Nat Foods make Pura, Big M, Farmer's Union, South Cape (all those yummy cheeses), Yoplait, Yogo and Fruche, among others. go and have a look at their website. Berri, those website has now merged with Nat Foods, make Berri, Just Juice, Daily Juice, Prima, Sunny Boy, Zooper Dooper and Mr Juicy amongst their major brands.
whilst doing some research on San Miguel, I also found out that they own the King Island Dairy brand.
what???? nofuckthat!
South Cape AND King Island. when you combine that with everything that Lactos - a French company which owns Mersey Valley, Tasmanian Heritage, and Australian Gold amongst others - has snaffled over the years, it doesn't leave much, does it?
San Miguel is a Phillipines-based company. in turn, it's major stakeholder is Kirin, the Japanese brewers who also own just under half of Toohey's brewer Lion Nathan. remember them? they're the ones who were trying to take over Coopers.
and don't get me started on the foreign takeover of the Australian wine industry. I'll pop my cork, and not in a good way. let's just say that a lot of the stuff you think is Australian, isn't. Lion Nathan, for instance, have their finger in the pie.
this is something I take terribly to heart, and something which makes me feel both angry and depressed. what's the point in having a big fat jolly &^$%*&$-ing deficit if all of the beautiful things we produce are actually putting the profits into foreign multi-nats?
I suggest you all go down to your local supermarket and buy an Ausbuy Guide. it's a brochure that you'll find either near the checkout, or with the magazines near the 12-Items-or-Less aisle. it's very interesting and/or depressing, listing all the Australian-owned companies, what was Australian but has been taken over, and what has always been an overseas brand. this includes things as diverse as funeral parlours, wine, and stationery.
years ago Ausbuy used to be a bit too nationalistic and, errrr... right-wingish... for me, but that changed quite some time ago. if you really want more info, go to their website and think about joining them - it's not much for a yearly subscription to their magazine and you receive updated Ausbuy Guides as they are released.
look, I'm not perfect - I occasionally drink Diet Coke, and eat Italian-made panettone, or Swiss choccie - but you know what? that's an informed decision, and it's not the norm, and I try not to. I try and find a locally-owned alternative (eg, K-mart's version of diet cola is great, Ital makes beautiful panettone, and Haighs and Ernest Hillier are fabulous choccie makers).
to find out that the milk and cheese I usually buy is owned by a bloody multi-nat brewer is not an informed choice. and it pisses me off.
I'll shut up now, and disappear in a Cloud of Righteousness.
No comments:
Post a Comment