Last of the Milka Maus

So, I have finally ate the last of the Milka Maus. The Milka Maus chocolate candies became a favorite of mine last year when my former flatmate, Matthias, introduced them to me. Matthias is a German man from Dresden, the grandson of Nazi officers, the victim of evil Eastern Germany tyranny and fascism, a witness to the tearing down of The Wall, a law professor, a kind man, a good man, a good-sized man, and a connoisseur of exotic womenfolk. Anyway, Matthias, who I'll now refer to as Matthias the Great, was also a connoisseur of chocolates (and cheese, wine, tabacco, etc) and brought back many fine specimens to our little Apartment 45. Anyway, Matthias the Great took off for Germany earlier this summer so the last time I saw him was way back in May. Boo. Thumbs down. But, the sweetheart that he is, Matthias the Great left a box of Milka Maus chocolate candies sitting on my desk, awaiting my return.

The candies are little bear-like mice creatures that melt well in the mouth and coat the tongue with a rich, milk chocolate goodness. I think they are supposed to be healthier than normal chocolate because there is some carob or something in there, but, well, I eat them because they are great tasting. I was limiting myself to one or two a day and savoring both thier goodness and Matthias' kind gesture. But now: they are gone!

It was a sad last bite, but one that had been coming for quite some time. It got me thinking about the Milka family of chocolate products and I figured I'd give the interweb some scouring so as to find out a bit more about the goodies brought forth under the Milka name. My findings were, ahem, horrific. First, I traced Milka back the Kraft family of foods. I had a bad feeling about that from the get-go, but went ahead and delved deeper, and here is what I found out about the Kraft family of foods:

The house the Marlboro Man built, Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris Companies), is the world's largest tobacco firm. Altria operates its cigarette business through subsidiaries Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International, which sell Marlboro -- the world's best-selling cigarette brand since 1972. The company controls about half of the US tobacco market. However, tobacco is only part of its portfolio. It owns some 87% of Kraft Foods, the world's #2 food company (after Nestlé), which makes Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, and Post. The tobacco giant bought Nabisco in late 2000, folding it into Kraft. Altria owns about 29% of SABMiller plc. (info from Hoovers)

Boo! Boo, boo, boo!!! I hate when shit like this happens. You go about your life happily, consuming products that make you feel good and happy and a little more comfortable, and you search out products made by companies that you think are conscious and responsible and friendly. You eat Chipotle with a clear mind because they do the whole free-range animals thing. Or, perhaps, you eat some Milka Maus chocolate candies because they are made in Germany and, therefore, must be better and more socially conscious than any American counterparts. But no. OH NO. You eat the damn chocolate and then realize only after the fact that your support of the Milka company means you are really supporting Philip Morris and shitty cigarettes and then you go poop, poop, poop.

I guess what I'm saying is that everything really is owned by two or three companies in the end. Eat local, drink local, blah blah blah. The money trickles upwards to the bigwigs eventually.

Anyway, enough grumbling. Here's a picture of Matthias:



Al