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[–] 282 points 1 year ago* (38 children)

American government: Builds concentration camps

Mexican government: Develops brand new chocolate bars

I'm happy to see there are still some governments out there who rule in the interest of the people.

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    [–] 103 points 1 year ago (28 children)

    Not objecting, but what is the motivation of the Mexican government to do this? Have they done similar things before?

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  • [–] 108 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

    I don't think they've done something exactly like this, but they have aggressively tackled obesity in recent years, going as far as labeling all foods with excess fats, salt, and sugar. It's very visible on the package and it does influence what I buy.

    But this is the way I found out we're doing this now. 😅

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  • [–] 18 points 1 year ago (14 children)

    Government should probably provide the cheapest food and set the standard.

    However ideology like this leads to issues in reality.

    If a competitor gets lower prices would hint at some questionability. Government correction becomes suppression. Suppression leads to . . .?

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  • [–] 26 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    However ideology like this leads to issues in reality.

    Issues for who? The consumer? Or the capitalists?

    If a competitor gets lower prices would hint at some questionability.

    It would hint that it's a shitty product, presuming no foul play by the government and the product is not overpriced (doesn't appear to be).

    Government correction becomes suppression. Suppression leads to . . .?

    Government correction how? From suppression I think you mean lowering their price? The scenario you're laying out doesn't make sense.

    The point of this kind of product is to be the baseline, no capitalist should be able to afford to offer the same product for less, because the government already has the lowest possible margin.

    You start by making a better product, and you can charge whatever people decide the improved product is worth. It's a good thing that an asshole capitalist can't market a $7 bar of chocolate when a very good quality one is $1. At that price difference, your chocolate better be amazing.

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    [–] 62 points 1 year ago (22 children)

    Hershey chocolate bar is rejected as chocolate because it doesn't have enough cocoa and is contaminated with lead.

    Hershey's milk chocolate contains around 11% cocoa solids, meaning it doesn't meet the European standard according to some sources. Therefore, in some European countries, Hershey's is labeled as "chocolate-flavored" or "chocolate-flavored candy bar" rather than simply "chocolate". 

    https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/consumer-reports-finds-more-lead-cadmium-chocolate-urges-change-hershey-2023-10-25/

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    [–] 50 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    Not to be outdone, Trump had the following announcement from the White House:

    "Today, the USA introduced its new chocolate bar, priced at over $10. Made of 0% cocoa, hydrogenated corn syrup, and trans fats. No natural ingredients, no milk, no vanilla. It's bigly on flavor and very, very, tasty. We are taking pre-orders now at USAChocolate.gov."

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    [–] 49 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    If you haven't had chocolate with vanilla in it, consider trying it. It's my favorite chocolate additive. You need to purge ideas about vanilla being sweet or creamy. It's a tobaccoy rich flavor that adds some depth even to dark chocolate.

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    [–] 46 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    The lady doing the presentation said that it has 35% of cane sugar.

    Also behind her you see "hecho con azúcar de caña" which means "made with cane sugar".

    Cane sugar is generally at least a bit refined merely to purify it (so unlike High-Frutose Corn Syrup it's not made by chemically transforming something else).

    That said, it's unclear if they use unrefined sugar cane, though that stuff is a complete total pita to work with hence I doubt it's not in the least bit refined.

    Mind you I looked around and the info on this is all over the place: like for example saying "no added sugars" but then a bit further it turns out it has "cane sugar", which does mean that sugars were added (as the cocoa plant doesn't produce cane sugar, that would be the sugarcane plant).

    Mind you, by all indications this beats almost all North American chocolates, but that hardly a tall barrier to overcome. It's pretty common to find similar stuff in European supermarkets.

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    [–] 40 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Not the news I was expecting but kind of a cool way to address a variety of issues, like obesity, imports from US, generating revenue, subsidizing a national crop, etc.

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    [–] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (44 children)

    Don't get me wrong, I don't Mexico to sell mind Mexico selling chocolate but why are they thinking this is part of their job as government??

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  • [–] 104 points 1 year ago (13 children)

    I don’t Mexico to sell chocolate

    Well I do Mexico to sell chocolate.

    Comedy aside, I think its to address the extraordinary obesity issues that Mexico has faced in the past 20 years. Mexico is in my top 2 of countries I'm moving to as the US collapses, but they have real issues with refined foods and especially added sugar.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    What's your other top 2 country? If I go I think I'm going to switch continents. I would prefer there to be a whole ocean between me and this bullshit.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Brazil is in the conversations. Mainly for professional reasons and because they do still invest in the kinds of science that my partner and I do, and I have many colleagues there and some family near Rio.

    The other is Tahiti, because I've got a pretty substantial Vanilla production operation going at this point, which was kind-of the entire point of why I moved to where I did. I also have access to EU citizenship through my mother, and I as far as a visa to live and work in the country, I think that part should be straight forwards since its basically France. My partner and I also have some connections to the university, University of French Polynesia. My partner has also previously worked for CNRS in Toulouse, although briefly. Buying land might be out of reach because its ridiculously expensive, but I can imagine various ways of making it happen.

    We're seriously considering some option at this point, but its very tough because we moved to where we live because this is where we wanted to live. We've also got a wide range of "things" going on that are difficult, but not impossible, to disentangle ourselves from.

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  • [–] 47 points 1 year ago

    Cacao is a national treasure, and America floods Mexico with Hershey's, Snickers, and other subpar "chocolate" and destroys local competition with cheap prices.

    Fun fact:

    The word "chocolate" is derived from the Nahuatl word Xocholatl (chikola-tl).

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  • [–] 41 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Mexico has been trying a lot to reduce obesity through various product labeling. This looks like a step in that direction; a snack that uses an indigenous ingredient (chocolate) in a manner that complies with federal guidelines.

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  • [–] 37 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    Try chocolate that wasn't made in America... Then imagine living a country with some of the best ingredients for chocolate making, and only seeing American chocolate on your store shelves... If capitalism is breaking stuff, the government is pretty much the only ones that can fix it. Though when the government is the thing that capitalism is breaking, I can see why you might not want them to do more than they currently do.

    Government is supposed to be about pooling money so it can be more efficiently and effectively spent. Economies of scale. Even if the government only half does what you want and half does stuff you don't care about, you are still getting better bang for your buck than if you tried to use your own tiny amounts of money to buy the half you do want.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    Try chocolate that wasn't made in America...

    I'm actually very fond of the US but the chocolate is absolute filth, sorry lads. I was so excited to try Hershey's and holy moly was it an earth shattering disappointment.

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  • [–] 25 points 1 year ago

    I don't follow Mexican politics closely, but this could be part of an effort to curb obesity. I've heard they introduced taxes on sugary drinks for this, so this might be another avenue.

    If people are wanting cheap snacks, and private companies are only making unhealthy ones, you can introduce regulations to micromanage what they can produce, or you can introduce a complex taxation process to disincentivize sugar snacks. Or you can introduce your own product that meets a perceived unmet demand in an underserved market.

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    [–] 23 points 1 year ago (4 children)
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    [–] 19 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    What is the objective behind selling the chocolate bars? I will have to delve deeper into the topic.

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  • [–] 34 points 1 year ago (10 children)

    I would presume it's because they're low in sugar. Due to exploding diabetes rates, Mexico has been making a concerted effort in the last few years to stem the consumption of sugary foods, drinks and snacks, particularly amongst kids. You can't have a cartoon mascot on a box of cereal, for example. They put big stickers over Tony the Tiger before changing the packaging completely. And the cost of snack foods has skyrocketed, making it largely unaffordable for lots of Mexican families. A bag of chips there costs more than it does in North America.

    My guess is that this is part of that effort.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    I always wondered what darker chocolate would be like when first ingredient on the list isn't sugar... Powered milk is sweet by itself, but without all the sugar I think 50% cocoa content might be more powerful than in 50% chocolate we have here in Europe.

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    [–] 16 points 1 year ago

    I'd love to have a taste.

    Too bad I live in Northern Europe...probably not worth buying via the Internet even if it was possible...

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    so when do we see nestle/mars/whoever try to kill this?

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    [–] 14 points 1 year ago (13 children)

    50% is a little low for my taste. I wish it was more like 40 60 80. I'd be going for the 80. Or maybe just 50 & 70. I can live with 70.

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    [–] 13 points 1 year ago

    Oh yeah thanks for reminding me this is just another way the Government is taking money for the Lopez family

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