Right now you cannot get a steak and cheese sub at the Subway near where I work. Or any of the other locations I’ve been to recently (you can’t throw a stone without hitting a Subway around here for some reason). Why? Well according to a little sign they have posted, it is because there is insufficient beef because of import restrictions due to the recent mad cow scares.
Insufficient beef. In Alberta. Wait a sec, they are using Canadian beef, right? Why yes, all beef used in their subs is 100% Canadian beef, the sign assures us. But it’s still considered imported because it’s packed in the U.S.
So, we raise cattle here in Alberta, ship them off to the States to be slaughtered and packed, and then import them back here before putting them in our sandwiches.
…
This is probably some side effect of franchising and their supply chains, but something still seems wrong here…
I’m just going to stare in your general direction and hope the million-or-so years we’ve known each other will be enough for you to know what I’m thinking without me actually saying it. :-)