First, They Came for the Condiments…
The FDA's attempt to protect America from Vegemite has not played well in the Aussie papers -- the only papers that seem to have noticed. A Canadian reports being asked at the border whether he was carrying any of the stuff, though that one guy appears to be among the very few sources corroborating the supposed crackdown. Ban or no ban, the Melbourne Herald Sun, a font of anti-anti-Vegemite rage, has composed an email for readers who want to protest "the injustice being perpetrated" against the salty brown "food":
Australians have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Americans throughout a century of conflict. From our Diggers and your Doughboys enduring the mud and blood of the Western Front to the crusade against Hitler and Tojo, to Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, Australia has been a stalwart U.S. ally. Yet today that alliance is threatened, not by despots and terror, but by the high-handed actions of your Food and Drug Administration, which has banned the importation, purchase and consumption of our beloved breakfast spread, Vegemite…
Tear down this ban, Mr. President! Allow Australians living in your country full and unfettered access to Vegemite, the spread of champions. Don't allow the food fascists of the FDA to jeopardise the respect and admiration that has long characterised relations between our two proud nations.
Vegemite, by the way, is owned by Kraft, the American multinational.
