Norwegian Butter Shortage

[Liep]

The important issue here, though, is if this will in any way affect the Norwegian women's handball team. Will they be depressed enough for us to beat them in the WC?

[Brazen]

I thought this was going to be to do with the issue of the digitally remastered version of Last Tango In Paris.

[Martinus]

Isn't Norway a part of the EEA? I thought it's like the EU, when it comes to tarriff-free zone? 

[Martinus]

There is a shortage of something every year. Usually it gets blamed on the planners inability to predict the future, but always it is a result of giving the farmers cooperative a monopoly on some kind of product.

In this case the old farmers coop "Tine Norske Meierier" has a legislated role as market regulator - basically a legislated monopoly. Somehow it is imagined that Tine will act for the consumer. Otherwise the butter market is protected by steep toll barriers and even Tine's competetors have to use Tine's network of subsidized dairies and Tine has to accept them. But, we have found that Tine gets away with prioritizing it's own production over competetors - a horrifying abuse of the monopoly given the perishable nature of dairy goods. This is a disgrace. However this system is maintained by norwegian bigotry and individual norwegians are willing to saccrifice their own free choice to force all their countrymen to maintain norwegian farmers. The arguments are typically food security (yes Soviet subs are about to cut the food supply to Norway in case of conflict) and what is called "culture landscape" - yes tourists like to see pretty little farmhouses. 

So on the whole the result is that norwegian farming uses more capital on the inputs cost more than it's products. Let me repeat the net result of all the hard work of norwegian farmers is negative. In effect the norwegian farmer is destroying value, BEFORE he takes his own salary. Subsidies to farmers are greater than income from farming.

This system is totally ridiculous.

I wish the EU wasn't sinking, so it could bring the unruly Norway peasants to their knees and cut through them like a hot knife.

[Barrister]

I wish I could laugh at Norway, but we have a very similar system when it comes to dairy.   

[Admiral Yi]

What does a stick of butter cost up your way?

[mongers]

What does a stick of butter cost up your way?

That's not a polite question to ask in mixed company. 

[Maximus]

I wish I could laugh at Norway, but we have a very similar system when it comes to dairy.   

Except the Canadian Dairy Commission is a crown corporation and not a farmer's co-op. It owns no production or processing facilities as far as I'm aware.

The protectionism may be similar though. I know it was a huge deal when NAFTA was coming in.

[Ideologue]

What does a stick of butter cost up your way?

Lol.

Edit: FUCK YOU MONGERS.

[Barrister]

I wish I could laugh at Norway, but we have a very similar system when it comes to dairy.   

Except the Canadian Dairy Commission is a crown corporation and not a farmer's co-op. It owns no production or processing facilities as far as I'm aware.

The protectionism may be similar though. I know it was a huge deal when NAFTA was coming in.

But it does set production quotas, and we have fairly high tariffs on imports.

Yi - I think its about $4-$5 for a pound of butter.

[Malthus]

What does a stick of butter cost up your way?

That's not a polite question to ask in mixed company. 

Is this about Last Tango in Paris again? 

[Viking]

usually it costs US$5, but the planners fucked up and the farmers don't like the plebs getting the idea that furriner butter isn't poisoned... so ...


Edit: I read DG's post as "Here we can buy a stick of butter for just a couple of bucks" and that is what I was replying to.

Actually we get a pack of 4 sticks for a couple bucks. $5 for a stick of butter seems rather extortionate.

Yes, welcome to norway.

[Ed Anger]

I use.....

[Capetan Mihali]

I love the British version:

[Capetan Mihali]

And the real fake butter has apparently been released in Germany this year: