Posted on 08/09/2015 6:15:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The days of Vegemite, the Australian equivalent to Marmite, could be numbered down-under because people are using it to make moonshine.
Just like its British counter-part the love-it-or-hate-it sticky spread is somewhat of a cultural favourite.
But Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion, said its sale should be restricted in remote communities where alcohol is banned.
He went as far as describing the spread as a ‘precursor to misery’, claiming kids were too hung over to go to school and blaming it for a spike in domestic violence cases.
Mr Scullion says in communities where alcohol is banned because of addiction problems, the sale of Vegemite should also be restricted.
He said: ‘Businesses in these communities… have a responsibility to report any purchase that may raise their own suspicions.’
But Dr John Boffa, of the People’s Alcohol Action Coalition, who is based in Alice Springs, in Australia’s Northern Territory, says the problem is not widespread.
‘We’re talking about an isolated problem in a couple of communities around a very large nation, and a nation where there is a very large number of Aboriginal communities, and every community is different,’ he told the BBC.
Vegemite started as a war-time substitute for Marmite, and is now something of an Australian culinary icon.
Some 19 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland have alcohol bans or restrictions and it is an offence to make home brew.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott also ruled out a ban of the spread, saying Sunday he did not want a ‘Vegemite watch’. ‘The last thing it want to see is a Vegemite watch going on because Vegemite, quite properly, is for most people a reasonably nutritious spread on your morning toast or on your sandwiches,’ he told reporters in Queensland.
It’s not bad on toast with an egg.
Are they going to ban baking yeast as well?
It’s a yeast extract, right?
Is that actually Vitavegamegamin?
“He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich”
They are talking about the possibility of banning it in some isolated Aboriginal communities which are already ‘dry’ and where there is a serious problem with alcohol abuse.
Not a general ban across the country.
Those mates can get pretty wascally sometmes. LOL! Once the Kenyan gets done “fundamentally transforming” this country, we’ll be making Vegemite out of horse dung.
Yes. A product of the beer industry. I LOVE ‘Twiglets’. They are a Marmite snack similar to Cheetos.
Danged if I know. “Vegemite” is a yeast-based product which originated in Australia as a B-vitamin supplement. It is now produced by the Kraft conglomerate.
A friend in Australia sent me some, back when you could only get it there. It has a very salty flavor, but as I said above, not bad on toast with an egg.
I believe so.
It’s all rather silly to ban it when it’s only used due to availability. Folks will just move on to other product.
Oh. Still, the same question: would they prevent these people from buying baking yeast?
Waiting for Skydancer to weigh in on this one.
Note, these aboriginal communities choose to declare themselves ‘dry’ - it’s their choice, not something imposed on them from outside. The purpose of a ban is to give them the power to enforce their decision, by making it harder for people to circumvent the restrictions. And, yes, such a ban can also be applied to baking yeast, if that is an issue.
Ok, how many here have only heard of “Vegemite” because of that Men At Work song?
Aboriginal communities have a problem with sniffing gasoline.
So when do we curtail the sale of granulated sugar and yeast?
Australia: Not as sane as you thought.
Yes, some do. There's a lot of different problems in some of these communities.
Interesting situation. I see the point now, but it’s still a question of whether anything can be made to work. Ban Vegemite, ban baking yeast, ban sourdough starter ...
Seems like when people are determined to make alcohol, they’ll do it somehow, and nature is on their side. Last summer I made some tomato soup and left it sitting on the stove in the pot, because I was eating it a couple times a day. By the fourth day, it was bubbling gently to itself and giving off a faint beery smell.
Root killer, disguised as a harmless yeast spread.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.