this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2025
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Mildly Interesting

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[–] huppakee@feddit.nl 25 points 1 day ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (11 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??

[–] quetzaldilla@lemmy.world 41 points 23 hours 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).

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 37 points 1 day ago (2 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.

[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 20 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

You mean Mexico made certain Goods MORE Expensive but then Offered a Public alternative so people don't HAVE to pay the Increase in Price?

That's STUPID! They should just Slap a TARIFF on it WITHOUT Investment or Alternatives and let their Citizens deal with the Price increase!

[–] sundray@lemmus.org 7 points 22 hours ago

They could be making their businesses “eat” the tariffs, but instead their people are eating good chocolate? That’s it, I’m heading down there, I’m sold.

[–] clif@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago

I did notice that the Mexican coke that I occasionally buy as a treat (in the US) got new labels printed on the bottle instead of just a sticker.

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For some reason it doesn't taste as good as it used to though. Feels like even more sugar than previously maybe? I should look it up.

[–] Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world 30 points 21 hours ago (2 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.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 13 points 20 hours ago (3 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.

[–] kayakdaddy@lemmy.world 12 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Born and bred in America and won’t eat American chocolate - literally tastes like vomit. And I do mean literally - Hershey’s chocolate goes through a process called lipolysis that breaks down their milk some and introduces butyric acid, which gives Parmesan, sour cream and other pungent dairy foods (and vomit) their smells.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago

Right.... Well that's some insight. Thank you . I heard a rumour that it was down to it being popular during a war where cocoa was in short supply but that makes sense too.

[–] slackassassin@sh.itjust.works 6 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

There's more American chocolate than just Hersey. This is like saying american burgers are filth because McDonalds exists.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 5 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

There is. That's fair, and some of it was decent and that's not to say that all American chocolate is bad because that would be stupid of course, as you say. And I'm sure there's top notch American chocolate. Of course there is.

But, the dominant chocolate, the one that foreigners associate with the US, was shite IMO. That's all.

And tbh I do like an oul' mackers. I wouldn't call McDonald's the Hershey's of burgers.

This is all subjective and I'm not being a cunt. I just was expecting sparkles in my mouth and I got.... Hershey's.

[–] slackassassin@sh.itjust.works 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Fair, fair. And I may not agree with your take on Micky Dees, but goddamn I respect it!

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

High five from the far side of the Atlantic at 1:36am and not entirely sober ✋

[–] slackassassin@sh.itjust.works 3 points 15 hours ago

Cheers mate 🤚

[–] Havoc8154@mander.xyz 1 points 19 hours ago

Yeah, that's exactly what they're talking about, did you not read the rest of that post?

[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol -5 points 19 hours ago

I only eat US made chocolate. Good stuff. Sometimes I'm tempted to buy some German garbage like Ritter Sport out of nostalgia from living there but then I slap myself and remember I don't have to eat out of a trash can.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 23 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Governments subsidize foods all the time. Yours probably does, too.

Mexico already has Welfare Stores, and this bar is being made in co-op with Food for Wellness.

https://www.informador.mx/mexico/Chocolate-del-Bienestar-en-ESTAS-tiendas-podras-comprarlo-20250710-0131.html

[–] modifier@lemmy.ca 5 points 19 hours ago

I’m barely old enough to remember government cheese.

[–] ignirtoq@fedia.io 22 points 1 day 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.

[–] londos@lemmy.world 11 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Government is the things we choose to do together. If the people choose healthy chocolate, then that's the job.

[–] huppakee@feddit.nl 2 points 19 hours ago

Totally agree, didn't mean to apply i'm against it but it just felt random. Thought maybe they were inspired by the donalds merchandise ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] 3abas@lemmy.world 8 points 11 hours ago

It is. They've got you conditioned to accept that government is just there to hurt you, it's supposed to make society worth living in.

That might be one of the best bang par buck moves possible from their health care department.

[–] br3d@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Because they tried leaving it to the private sector and people got unhealthy from eating cheap refined carbs?

[–] percent@infosec.pub 4 points 17 hours ago

If I had to guess, it's likely due to the obesity problem they were having

[–] worldistracist@lemmy.cafe 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Providing healthy abordable food should be the first job of any governement.

[–] imsufferableninja@sh.itjust.works -1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)
[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 7 points 20 hours ago

Chocolate is food and is used in some Mexican sauces. It just happens to be that the most typical modern use is chocolate is in candy.