News: Sanitarium Health Foods Would Sue to Protect Granola Trademark

adventist today | Sanitarium Health Foods Would Sue to Protect Granola Trademark

Sanitarium is the foremost health food company in Australia, making Australia's most popular breakfast cereal, Weet-Bix, as well as peanut-butter, soy milk, and meat substitutes. Sanitarium is owned by the Adventist church to which it gives 100% of its profits. In a reprint on it's website from The Australian, Adventist Today presents a case of corporate bullying "with Sanitarium threatening small manufacturer Whisk & Pin with legal action unless the company withdraws its application to register 'mountain granola' as its trade mark."

But what Adventist Today doesn't tell you is that what we in North America call "granola" is commonly referred to in Australia as "muesli". During the year I spent there I don't think I ever heard an Australian use the word "granola". So the outrage that Adventist Today's North American readership will feel toward this church owned corporationon for trademarking a generic term will be largely unfounded.

The Aussies are probably outraged, too, but for a different reason. They always cheer (not "root"--Down Under that means having sex) for the under-dog. They'd hate to see a big company like Sanitarium intimidating a small start-up with lawyers.