Danish Products, Whatever The Hell Those Are
Neda Cole commented yesterday that
"My brother had nothing major to report from Dubai (surprise). His main complaint is that he can't get Lurpak butter."
Which led me to ask the question, what the hell does Denmark produce that anyone could ever boycott?
For a half-second I, the eternal naif, actually wondered, does Denmark really produce danishes? Because that could impact millions of breakfasts the world over. But, of course, no, they don't, any more than France produces french fries.
According to this EU site, "over the past fifty years the Danish economy has undergone a modernisation with economic activity becoming more diverse. Manufactured products now accounts for 80% of Denmark's exports with agriculture now only accounting for 11%."
OK, so apparently the world is in love with Danish manufactured products. But what are they? Lurpak butter, apparently, whatever that is. What else?
According to this Wikipedia article, major Danish exports are "industrial machinery, chemical products, furniture, pharmaceuticals, and canned ham and pork."
Hm, so the Muslim world is boycotting canned ham and pork? That's a bit like how every year for Lent my mother makes a big production of giving up watermelon, to which she happens to be allergic.
Surely this can't be what has been hobbling the Danish economy. So is it the industrial machinery, chemical products, and furniture? (in terms of the chemical products, I am not even going to go there)
I know the Muslim world is enormous (have you seen Indonesia's population numbers?), but seriously, how many Arne Jacobsen chairs can any population, no matter how numerous, actually purchase each month?
UPDATE: For anyone actually curious, here's a business professor's less lighthearted look at the boycott.
Tags:news and politics ,danish cartoons,boycott,furniture, ,Jyllands-posten, Islam, denmark
"My brother had nothing major to report from Dubai (surprise). His main complaint is that he can't get Lurpak butter."
Which led me to ask the question, what the hell does Denmark produce that anyone could ever boycott?
For a half-second I, the eternal naif, actually wondered, does Denmark really produce danishes? Because that could impact millions of breakfasts the world over. But, of course, no, they don't, any more than France produces french fries.
According to this EU site, "over the past fifty years the Danish economy has undergone a modernisation with economic activity becoming more diverse. Manufactured products now accounts for 80% of Denmark's exports with agriculture now only accounting for 11%."
OK, so apparently the world is in love with Danish manufactured products. But what are they? Lurpak butter, apparently, whatever that is. What else?
According to this Wikipedia article, major Danish exports are "industrial machinery, chemical products, furniture, pharmaceuticals, and canned ham and pork."
Hm, so the Muslim world is boycotting canned ham and pork? That's a bit like how every year for Lent my mother makes a big production of giving up watermelon, to which she happens to be allergic.
Surely this can't be what has been hobbling the Danish economy. So is it the industrial machinery, chemical products, and furniture? (in terms of the chemical products, I am not even going to go there)
I know the Muslim world is enormous (have you seen Indonesia's population numbers?), but seriously, how many Arne Jacobsen chairs can any population, no matter how numerous, actually purchase each month?
I for one don't buy it. The mystery remains unsolved, which is prompting my more conspiratorial instincts:
What the hell do Danes really contribute to the world economy?
UPDATE: For anyone actually curious, here's a business professor's less lighthearted look at the boycott.
Tags:news and politics ,danish cartoons,boycott,furniture, ,Jyllands-posten, Islam, denmark
posted by Solomon Grundy @ 4:06 PM
4 Comments:
At 4:52 PM,
Nan said…
Denmark is one of the worlds largest producers of Insulin.
Also
Lego is a danish product - what is a childhood without Lego ? :)
At 5:00 PM,
Solomon Grundy said…
Are you serious? Legos? OK, that is kind of cool. I have newfound respect for Danish culture.
At 5:03 PM,
Solomon Grundy said…
Oh and I just saw that you actually live in Denmark. If you come back and read this, I'm curious how Danes are taking this whole controversy. Are you embarrassed by this right-wing newspaper? Is there a lot of tension in Denmark? The only Danes I've ever met were very sweet.
At 12:21 PM,
Solomon Grundy said…
Yikes, I kept expecting that site to turn funny, and it really, really didn't.
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