HACKER Q&A
📣 cf100clunk

Is Vegemite worthy of an international trade crisis?


Canada and Australia, sister-countries of the British Empire now within the Commonwealth and simultaneously engaged in respective federal elections in the face of massive U.S.-instigated upheaval in global trade, are now engaged in a struggle over... Vegemite. Top trending news stories in Canada and Australia describe the turmoil as leading politicians have joined the fray:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/australian-canadian-cafe-owner-ordered-remove-vegemite-1.7508893

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pro-vegemite-albanese-backs-cafe-owner-as-canada-cracks-down-on-iconic-spread-20250415-p5lrxr.html

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/15/anthony-albanese-backs-australian-cafe-owner-importing-vegemite-to-canada-ntwnfb

I personally loathe and despise Vegemite (and Marmite, too) but my wife finds it tolerable after trying it in her uni days at Flinders way back when.

Perhaps this crisis is only just an opportunity for levity in the midst of massive disruption to world trade patterns. Perhaps my click-baity question will bring a smile.

So, is Vegemite worthy of all the strife?

  👤 anenefan Accepted Answer ✓
I find vegemite far too salty, and the taste too strong, even spread as thin on toast to be merely the slightest colour change. No I don't like it much. I've only found the NZ version of marmite [1] being palatable and after time found I looked forward every so often to a nice marmite sandwich.

I would guess it has to do more with how it was imported into Canada. [2]

The labelling might be also what's got the product into trouble, yeast extract should have those vitamins in moderately high levels as it is without fortifying.

Finally for the rofl is a 2010 crow [3a,b] in regard to how Canada is leading the way ... to allow fortified foods

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast_extract#Marmite_(New_Zea...

[2] https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Regulations/C.R.C.,_c._8...

[3a] https://www.cmaj.ca/content/182/5/426 ... [3b] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2842846/

👤 beardyw
Just checked my bottle of Marmite and it says "fortified with B vitamins". Odd that it should be OK in Canada when Vegemite isn't?
👤 pestatije
Bega bought Vegemite just for the "Australian" brand...in my mind, if they cant compete with the ludicrous prices of cheese and vegemite they offer, they should pack it
👤 BMc2020
Give vegemite another chance. It's the yeast you could do.