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South Africa is Running Out of Marmite (economist.com) 90

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
A ban on booze has led to parched throats and dry toast. From a report: The love-it-or-loathe-it spread, invented in Britain at the start of the 20th century, is an extract of yeast. It is most commonly eaten spread thinly on buttered toast, but it can also be used to add a rich, vegan-friendly umami flavour to soups, stews and sauces. In South Africa Marmite is indeed thinly spread. Shoppers first noted shortages at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, when South Africa banned alcohol sales in an attempt to free up beds in hospitals that would otherwise be filled with tipsy drivers or drunken brawlers. The ban had an unexpected consequence. With beer sales on ice, South Africa's main breweries sharply reduced their production. With much less lager fermenting in their vats, they were also producing far less brewer's yeast, the beery by-product that is the main ingredient of Marmite.

Through the course of the pandemic, South Africa imposed four separate alcohol bans, each one of which dealt a blow to Marmite production. Nine months since the lifting of the last prohibition, production ought to have recovered, allowing shops to refill their shelves. Yet it has not. When your correspondent recently walked the aisles of 15 grocery stores in Johannesburg, 12 had no Marmite at all. In the three remaining shops a total of just seven jars could be found, of which three appear to have escaped purchase by hiding behind jars of Bovril, a beef-based cousin of Marmite. The branch manager of a large store in eastern Johannesburg says that deliveries still dribble in but fly off the shelves in an instant. That the shortage continues is because of another hiccup in the supply chain. Pioneer Foods, the local manufacturer of Marmite, reportedly said that its production has been slowed by a shortage of sodium carbonate, which is used in the manufacturing process. Muckraking by the Daily Maverick, a local paper better known for exposing political scandals than for scrutinising sandwiches, found that intermittent cuts in the water supply were also affecting the country's only Marmite factory.
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South Africa is Running Out of Marmite More

South Africa is Running Out of Marmite

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  • Wrong platform for this story (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @01:10PM (#62462518)

    I can see this as a Cable News, or even an NPR article as a general public interest interesting tidbit article. Or perhaps on an investment site which may cover commodities.

    But why on Slashdot for this? Science No, Technology No, Geeky culture stuff Fantasy, Sci-Fi, D&D or table top games No. It doesn't even have a major political or outrageous spin on it, (perhaps South Africa banning Spirits, which I think may be a bit excessive, but I don't live there so I don't really care, but that rule has been in place for a while now)

    I guess there may be some Nostalgia for marmite, which I personally hate, But I expect some of the old portions of the boomers who are trolling slashdot may have some fond memory of?

    • Re:Wrong platform for this story (Score:5)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @01:54PM (#62462712)

      Science No, Technology No,

      The complex interaction of different industries along with beer angle makes this one of the more interesting stories on Slashdot today.

      But don't worry I'm sure we can run some more political crap to spark the appropriate amount of outrage that Slashdot has come to love soon.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by NFN_NLN ( 633283 )

        Everyone is confused trying to figure out how this relates to the bread (crypto currencies) and butter (global warming) or slashdot posts.

    • Two days before Earth Day, Almost 500 people have been killed by flooding in Durban, South Africa, home of the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference.

    • Re:Wrong platform for this story (Score:5, Funny)

      by DigitAl56K ( 805623 ) on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @02:16PM (#62462794)

      It's an acquired taste. Some people love marmite stories, some people hate them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      After all the news about Covid, Ukraine, gas prices and Windows 11: Finally some good news on this site.

    • What it is, is evidence that you can neither plan for nor predict everything.

      An economy managed top down, instead of bottom up, gets blindsided by this very sort of thing constantly. The reactions to covid were top down. Just another example of good-intentioned-ignorance-producing-bad-result.

      Now that I got all the Statists attention. I am not saying its because you fucks are stupid and are constantly harmful. I am saying its because the problem cant be solved the way you are trying to solve it but you

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      I can see this as a Cable News, or even an NPR article as a general public interest interesting tidbit article. Or perhaps on an investment site which may cover commodities.

      But why on Slashdot for this? Science No, Technology No, Geeky culture stuff Fantasy, Sci-Fi, D&D or table top games No. It doesn't even have a major political or outrageous spin on it, (perhaps South Africa banning Spirits, which I think may be a bit excessive, but I don't live there so I don't really care, but that rule has been in place for a while now)

      I guess there may be some Nostalgia for marmite, which I personally hate, But I expect some of the old portions of the boomers who are trolling slashdot may have some fond memory of?

      We knew from the outset you were either going to love or hate this story.

  • Blah blah blah (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Marmite is a by-product of beer brewing. Ban alcohol, beer production goes down, Marmite production goes down.

    That really didn't need two paragraphs of beating around the bush, msmash.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by waspleg ( 316038 )

      I buy from an online farmer's market which has a place that sells sesame crackers made from spent grain from a big local brewery. They're awesome, never had marmite though.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by NFN_NLN ( 633283 )

      Is there a law that says you have to drink the alcohol? They could still brew beer and throw it away and the accompanying sales that subsidize Marmite production.

  • Call Belgium and get their Vegemite sandwich.

  • They should be counting their lucky stars there weren't full-blown riots on the streets.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by quenda ( 644621 )

      They should be counting their lucky stars there weren't full-blown riots on the streets.

      You sure there were not? Street riots are a regular thing in South Africa.

  • Surely we have a plethora of leftover yeast we can send over there for humanitarian purposes.

  • Are we forgetting about the poor yeasts?

  • No much of a prohibition and home brew legal (Score:3)

    by tekram ( 8023518 ) on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @03:02PM (#62462978)
    in SA. It was a rolling series of prohibition to prevent excess alcohol consumption during the pandemic and they were lifted fairly quickly. In any case home brewing is legal in SA and there was nothing preventing South Africans from making their own beer and brewer's yeast - actually something constructive to do during the pandemic.

  • Why is an article on a US website calling it Marmite when in Australia it's called Vegemite ?!

    I can see calling it Marmite if is this was a UK-based website, but American's don't even eat the stuff.

    BTW, best use of Marmite is on toast for baked beans on toast, which I used to have growing up the UK. Is that a thing in Australia too ?

    • because in south africa it's called Marmite?

    • The article is paywalled but... perhaps it is called Marmite in South Africa where the article is talking about?

    • ... US website calling it Marmite ...

      Why do Americans say "Cookie" when the rest of the world, before 2005 anyway, said "biscuit"? Using the local dialect is accurate reporting. Since Americans don't eat the stuff they can't use their own words like "cookie" or "candy".

      ... a thing in Australia too?

      No, but try vegemite on lettuce or on cheddar.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by dwywit ( 1109409 )

      Vegemite thinly smeared over buttered toast, served alongside, not under, baked beans.

      You're allowed buttered or unbuttered toast under the baked beans.

      Those who haven't been properly initiated tend to treat it like jam, or honey, or peanut butter, and slather it on. Vegemite/marmite should be no more than 5 or 6 microns thick.

    • As an Australian, Marmite is different to vegemite. Marmite is vile.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nasch ( 598556 )

      What does Australia have to do with it? And they are (apparently) not quite the same.

      http://www.differencebetween.n... [differencebetween.net]

  • Marmite is an abomination.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by countach ( 534280 ) on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @03:40PM (#62463146)

    Vegemite is the One True yeast spread.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Marmite = Vegemite + Mormons

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by _merlin ( 160982 )

        Actually Seventh-day Adventists, not Mormons - at least in Australia, Marmite is made by Sanitarium [wikipedia.org], which is well-known for its connections the the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Tablizer ( 95088 )

          They both dress like 1st day accountants and knock on your door while having dinner to introduce you to alleged Holy materials and a group prayer.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by _merlin ( 160982 )

            No, Adventists don't do that. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses wear suits and door-knock as a key part of practicing their religion. Adventists in general don't.

  • Lockdown caused Marmite shortage in UK (Score:3)

    by WierdUncle ( 6807634 ) on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @04:37PM (#62463346)

    I noticed a Marmite shortage when all the pubs were shut. Presumably, the brewers that supply mainly to pubs simply stopped brewing, causing a shortage of yeast. There was not any ban on drinking as such, but just large gatherings, which rules out the typical pub.

    There is a possibility that a bit of rumour and panic buying went on. This can strip supermarket shelves in no time. The Marmite did come back eventually.

    I think the next panic might be grain based products, because of the war in Ukraine, which is (was) a major producer of wheat and other grains. Sunflower oil is next. 80% of that comes from Russia and Ukraine.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dwywit ( 1109409 )

      "grain-based products"?

      How much of the annual barley consumption in the UK is from home-grown crops?

      It would be a shame if the smaller breweries in the UK had to shut down.

      • Though I am fond of a good beer, I think we need to get our priorities right. Let them drink cider.

        As far as I know, most grains go for animal feed. I think that is where most oats and barley end up. So you could say beef is a "grain based product". Of course, being something of a purist with regard to food, I think that cows should eat grass, roaming the verdant pastures, as God intended. But that would not feed our appetite for what used to be a luxury, and that we now consider to be daily fare. I should

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dwywit ( 1109409 )

          Definitely cider. Perhaps a wassail could help?

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

          I believe the spent grain from brewing also goes to animal feed. But yes, the idea of feeding perfectly wholesome grain to beef cattle is stupid.

          Haven't had a pearl barley soup for ages. It does need a lot of help with flavouring.

        • I don't remember where I saw it, but I ran into an article that mentioned potatoes largely ended the persistent scurvy in Europe.

          • I can imagine that potatoes may have been a better staple food than grains, because potatoes contain vitamin C, which grains do not. This could be important during the winter months, when fresh fruit and veg are not available. As far as I know, vitamin C is unusually fragile, and easily destroyed by cooking. Do potatoes stored for long periods retain their vitamin C? What about preserved leafy vegetables, such as sauerkraut? Does the fermentation retain vitamin C? These fermented and preserved vegetables ap

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nasch ( 598556 )

      No need to presume when you can just read the summary.

      • No need to presume when you can just read the summary.

        The article was about South Africa, not Britain. Do they have pubs selling real ale in South Africa? I remember reading that South Africa tried to stop excessive drinking during pandemic restrictions, whereas in Britain, the pubs were closed because meeting indoors was not allowed.

  • how is related to computers or tech?

  • When significant fraction of the world is starving, is this really a big deal? BTW what's in there for techies?
    • I knew that economics were topsy turvy when someone tried to vandalize my car by hurling a brand new jar of pickled peppers and a brand new jar of Grey Poupon.

  • Marmageddon 2.0 (Score:4, Informative)

    by NimbleSquirrel ( 587564 ) on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @05:20PM (#62463516)

    Marmageddon was a thing in New Zealand. [wikipedia.org] After the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes damaged the manufacturing plant some production kept going, but production was fully shut down in late 2011 when a critical cooling tower was declared unsafe. Further damage uncovered during the repairs kept the plant closed far longer than expected. The resulting marmite shortage lasted from 2012 to 2013.

    British Marmite has a different fomula, and tastes completely different, as does Australian Vegemite. Some people switched, but most held out with remaining jars reaching astronomical prices on TradeMe (the local Ebay equivalent).

    • Some people switched, but most held out with remaining jars reaching gastronomical prices on TradeMe (the local Ebay equivalent).

      There, FTFY

  • I was going to say what it's like, but I ran out of space.

    When your correspondent recently walked the aisles of 15 grocery stores in Johannesburg, 12 had no Marmite at all.

    When I first asked myself, 80% of my mind was thinking vegemite. I must have heard the word before the word "marmite" before, but I just keep thinking of either 'vegemite' (which I've never seen either) or 'marmots' which give me nightmares ever since that time nihilists broke into my house and threw one in my bathtub while I was trying to chill out one night.

    I'll eat anything at least once just to know what it's like - and I make no exception for am

    • On further review it appears I can't buy a marmot in a pet store. I had just typed in "marmot pet stores" and google showed me pet stores.

      I wasn't really going to get one anyway although I'd still try one if you served it to me on a plate with a knife and fork - or skewered on a stick.

    • Marmite is the saltiest spread on the planet. Marmite is saltier than pure salt. The only thing that comes remotely near Marmite saltiness is Dutch Triple Salt Liquorice.
  • There's always Vegemite

  • Apparently, the marmite mines can't find workers to work in the disgusting ooze.

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