a Holy nectar of the gods aka Nutella

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Nutella: everyone loves it. Kids like because of its sweet taste; parents like it because they believe that it is healthy for their children. I say they "believe" because there are still many debates whether or not Nutella is as healthy as it is advertised to be. About 250,000 tons of Nutella that are sold across 75 countries all come about with the help of ingredients from countries that might have not much else in common, but they all help to make chocolatey hazelnut spread. The OECD's new report on global value chains features a case study on Nutella, revealing that it’s the dictionary definition of globalization. Its factories and suppliers span six continents, with main ingredients coming from five countries: hazelnuts from Turkey, cocoa from Nigeria, vanilla from France, sugar from Brazil, and palm oil from Malaysia. And most of the factories aren’t in any of those countries, meaning that any jar of Nutella requires input from six countries or more. The corporate headquarters of the Ferrero Group, which manufactures Nutella, is in Alba, Italy. The factories are in Brantford, Stadtallendorf, Belsk, Vladimir, Lithgow, Poços de Caldas, and Los Cardales. Of course, those are only the producers near the end of the process — before them come the makers of the machinery they use, the producers of the steel used to make that machinery, the roughnecks bringing up oil that will make the diesel that powers the trucks and ships that move those 250,000 tons of Nutella around the world, the bankers who financed these endeavors, etc. It also turns out that it cost about three quarter of the retail price to make you own home made Nutella . Usually Nutella cost amount $7, so by making it at home it would only cost you about $5.35 to make 3 jars of Nutella. This makes me wonder how much a worker is paid at these Nutella factories.

Russians and Poles historically have not cooperated on very much other than killing each other — the Soviets were the worst brutes of their time, but the Poles dished it out pretty rough, too, for instance in the Polish–Muscovite War — but Russians and Poles cooperate in the production of Nutella (and much else). The French may have mixed feelings about bringing Turkey into the European Union, but they are happy to bring their hazelnuts. The Italians and the Turks within recent memory fought a war (creating Libya in the process), but they can work together peacefully through trade and specialization. There are still living veterans of the most recent war that saw Canada and the United States on one side with Germany and Italy on the other — 25,000 Canadians died in the Italian campaign alone — but Nutella transcends history. Nutella is a product of a truly global economy, and as a model of human cooperation, it is beautiful.

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