I just got done reading this article. So many thoughts. So many emotions.
Where do I start? How about with why this is relevant to Free The Egg:
A few months ago, we discovered that our beloved Egg’s ban is being strictly enforced due to the Mars company pitching a giant fit. Think “two-year-old upset that five-year-old has a better lollipop and if Daddy doesn’t make it right, two-year-old will vomit all over Daddy’s best shoes”. In an egg shell, Nestle came out with their “Magic”. Mars saw the great potential, got “Magic” banned, and the Egg was pulled into it. Before that, many of us were able to order Eggs from overseas and even bring them home in our own luggage…to our own children…who we are accountable to raise. (Read our original blog post and article of reference here and here.) Hershey’s has now effectively done the same thing to many beloved British chocolates.
If you’ve never tasted International versions of your favorite chocolate, you have not lived a full life. I don’t care if you’ve climbed Everest, smooched at the top of the Eiffel Tower, or meditated in Tibet. If you haven’t had a Mars bar made outside of the US, you don’t know joy. If you haven’t tasted the amazingness of European chocolate, you don’t know happiness. Why do you think Willy Wonka’s factory was in Europe? Let’s face it. Our chocolate has been damaged by the fanaticism and good intentions of healthy advise/regulations. Europeans know the joy of fatty butter and fattier sweets. Using low-in-fat butter in pastries is like buying a low-fat doughnut. Why bother?
Disclaimer – I’m not saying there aren’t amazing foods in the US that they don’t have in Europe! Not at all. In fact, when my European relatives visit the US, there are specific foods they consume right away. One of them is Cool Whip. Giggle if you must, but man do you miss it when you can’t get it. We also had many German neighbors who asked us to buy them certain foods at the US commissary. There are potato chips that bear the same name, but taste differently…and sodas. This is an international issue!
For those of us lucky enough to have enjoyed the pleasures of good European chocolate, this article is devastating. If British chocolate is on the chopping block, it won’t take long for the other chocolates to follow.
I have two daughters that LOVE Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar. Love. I don’t. I can take one square and that’s all I can handle. I need more quality. Dark chocolate is my cup of tea. Really dark. We all enjoy different flavors, different qualities, in our chocolates. For a country that is all about diversity, why would our government restrict our options for chocolate? Or any other food? Or a certain amazing, fun little Egg? One word, people. One.
MONEY.
Money that Hershey’s thinks it is losing by small mom-and-pop shops selling a few candy bars. Money that Hershey’s could possibly have given to just the right people to make this all happen. (Mars’ millions is keeping our Egg out, so why wouldn’t Hershey’s employ the same tactic?)
Please understand. I am NOT against the rich. I am NOT against anyone making millions or billions. Go for it. I’d love to join you. But when someone uses their money to prohibit others from happiness, that is wrong. Flat out wrong.
And what about what we want to do with our money? The consumers know what they want. That is the beauty of supply and demand. The consumers will buy the products they like. If there is a poor product, they won’t buy it anymore. Mars and Hershey’s apparently don’t have the faith necessary to trust their products in a market with more diverse options. Rather than face the battle of the taste buds, they turn to the courts and push the competition out of the ring.
What can you do to help the new ban in the US? The same thing you can do to help Free The Egg. Spread the word and sign the petition. Here is their petition. And, if you haven’t signed ours yet (don’t forget, we lost our original petition with over 4,000 signatures – please sign the new one!) here is ours.
All we are asking is for our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of chocolate.
Free the Egg 