This should be a Twitter poll

"I think it does sort of mean that we're in a world where you know these companies are definitely winning at capitalism, but the problem is you and I and the rest of us are are not," says @DrLenoreNewman

I talked to @DrLenoreNewman about all of this. She says there are practical reasons for rising food prices: severe weather, war in Ukraine. But she also worries about corporate profits.

Nestle - the conglomerate behind Haagen Dazs, Nescafe, various chocolates - says "In 2022, pricing became the largest contributor to growth." https://t.co/TTZnXXhiSe (pg. 11)

Unilever - makers of Lipton soup, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Hellmann’s mayo, Dove soap, etc. - says its growth in North America last year was fueled by price increases. Volumes, the amount of stuff it sold, were down slightly.

In other words, they're selling less stuff, so their growth will come from price hikes.

Recent comments from execs w/massive food companies offer clues. Kraft Heinz - makers of ketchup, KD, etc. - says it has already announced its price hikes for the year. And that "growth in 2023 is all driven by price. So, volume is still negative." https://t.co/wx4N0FQaZ0 (pg 8)

In fact the company says it's getting an unusual flood of calls from its suppliers to raise prices - more than 1,000 requests for significant increases. So where are those requests coming from?

After posting half a billion in total profits for the tail end of 2022, the retailer says its *profit margins for food* hit a peak in mid-2021, and have not returned to those highs. It says "the company is not taking advantage of inflation to drive profits."

So @loblawco - the owner of Superstore, No Frills, etc. - had a few eye-opening things to say about its latest earnings today. For those interested in price hikes at the grocery store, a 🧵

I'm yacking on the radio about this. Hear me on @afternoonCBC @CBCOnTheCoast Up to Speed, @CBCHomestretch

It says: “We hate this modern degeneracy, this miscellaneous and business fashion. Send a Valentine by the penny post too? Bah! Give us the sweet old days when there was a mystery about it.”

One thing that hasn't changed - even back then, people were still whining that Valentine's Day had become too commercial. @TIME uncovered this gem from a 1847 edition of the New York Daily Tribune:

So it was Howland, and not her competitors, who became known as the Mother of the American Valentine. And she was doing her thing from the 1840s and on. Hallmark didn't come around until 1910.

It's worth noting that other companies were making Valentines around this same time, circa-mid 1800s. But people who study the era say Howland popularized them, made them more widely available, at a more affordable price.

And these things weren't some cardboard cutout of I cho-cho-choose you. They were really something. Handmade with layers of lace, specialty paper, painted silk.

A woman named Esther Howland from Massachusetts received one from a friend and went to her father - who owned a stationary business - to see if there was a market. Orders flooded in, way more than they expected. So she created an assembly line.

There was a whole industry around Valentine's Day cards, but they were often imported from Europe and reserved for the elites.

Valentine's Day is often dismissed as a Hallmark holiday. Some people cringe at the idea that this has all become too commercial. But the tradition of selling v-day cards in North America - and complaining about the industry - goes back to the 1800s. A🧵

Hey. Sens are playing Canucks tonight. Who are you cheering for @VancityReynolds ? @ReidSouthwick and I need to know. @CBCBusiness @CBCOttawa @CBCMontreal