We blame UC#3 for today’s torturous tempest of a Spam BLOTT.
Gentlepeople – I am still waiting on Securities Exchange Commission approval of our WLBOTT fund but should have it by tomorrow. But I wanted to explain one of the investment choices. Our most Esteamed Senior Elder, UC#4 (Señor Viejo), has a strong affinity for Spam (the spiced ham product), so I have included Hormel ( the manufacturer of Spam) in our portfolio.
Spam (stylized as SPAM) is a brand of processed canned pork and ham made by Hormel Foods Corporation. It was introduced in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. By 2003, Spam was sold in 41 countries (and trademarked in over 100) on six continents.
[ed. note: we were unable to verify (we didn’t really try very hard), but we assume that Spam is not sold in Antarctica.]
Spam’s main ingredients are pork shoulder and ham, with salt, water, modified potato starch (as a binder), sugar, and sodium nitrite (as a preservative). Natural gelatin is formed during cooking in its tins on the production line. It is available in different flavours, some using different meats, as well as in “lite” and lower-sodium versions. Spam is precooked, making it safe to consume straight from the can, but it is often cooked further for taste.
Wikipedia / Image By Lhe3460 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hormel: Are they Good Guys?
Hormel is not listed as a company that has pulled out of Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. (Wikipedia)
However, they are listed under “Companies providing donations and match funding to Ukraine”:
Does Hormel do business in Russia? No, according to their SEC Annual Report:
These days, Savile, who oversees the SPAM® Museum for Hormel Foods, rarely uses her full name: Savile Collins de Montenay FitzAlan de Dinan Lord. Nor does she broadcast her lineage, which can be traced to the Revolutionary War and even before that, to the 1215 signing of the Magna Carta. Savile’s ancestor Baron Foulques FitzWarin was present when King John of England put his signature on the monumental charter.
Please note the above connection of Spam to the Knights of the Garter. Hey, they started it, not us!
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, it is outranked in precedence only by the decorations of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross. The Order of the Garter is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George, England’s patron saint.
The order’s emblem is a garter circlet with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (Anglo-Norman for ‘Shame on him who thinks evil of it’) in gold script.
