Sacred milk: linguistic Manifest Destiny

This is an article written by my witty and incredulous sister, Michaela Gerussi. Of all the articles posted on this blog, this one has by far the most spirit and panache.

If you care at all about local businesses, cultural and linguistic freedom, or calling a spade a spade, read on.

Coffee Talk

If you’re interested in becoming a ‘Barista’ at Starbucks, apply now. They’re mass hiring right now, and have plans to open five hundred new cafes in Canada. Starbucks is taking over the country.

Starbucks’ success in Canada is undeniable. It’s the trendy place to go for coffee, tea, and reduced fat, vegan brownies.

Many of us feel that it’s important to support Canadian, if not local businesses. Unfortunately, most accessible restaurants and cafes in Toronto are American owned chains. Even your friendly neighborhood Second Cup, which at least started out in Canada, is now owned by an American company. Lately, Second Cup has been overshadowed by the merciless Starbucks.

A recent recruit shares his experience of being thrust into the world of Starbucks:

“I was surprised at how seriously they take working at Starbucks. I have a huge textbook to read through about making coffee. I’ve realized that it’s not an evil company, they’re just incredibly successful. They’ve thought of everything. They use fair trade coffee beans, and invest in community centers in the areas where they get the beans. Their prices are high, but what you’re paying for is a drink that you can customize to be exactly what you want. The high costs also let them treat their employees very well. Nine dollars an hour and free drinks on every break is enough, but after six months, I actually get health benefits, and the company will help contribute to my RRSP account.”

Starbucks has swooped in on us, and we willingly agree to order deliciously artificial American drinks using words like ‘venti’ and ‘macchiatto’ as if we’re in an Italian espresso bar.


To be honest, this is not a problem for me. They are not ripping off any coffee farmers in South America or testing their products on baby Rabbits. I have no problem with the company; in fact I hear good things. My issue with Starbucks is the effect it has had on our culture so far.

Starbucks is not only oozing onto every street corner in Toronto; it is slowly but surely breaking down the sacred tradition that is Skim milk.

I can’t figure out how they got away with ‘non-fat’ milk. In Canada we say skim milk, obviously, and have been saying it for who knows how long. All of the workers and customers are Canadian, so the only ones forcing ‘non-fat’ on us is those little stickers on the milk jugs. ‘Skim’ even takes less time to say (and of course we all know that Starbucks is for busy, busy people) but the Americans up in the offices don’t know what that means, and it confuses them.

If you think about how many people go to Starbucks and are exposed to the ‘non-fat’ phenomenon, it’s easy to see how it has really impacted the milk world.

Caitlin has been working at Second Cup for a few months now. For a little experiment, I asked her about the milk situation at good old second Cup. By the way, Second cup has been in Canada since the seventies, and has been ‘Skim’ from the beginning. Caitlin told me that they still label the milk ‘Skim’, but almost all of the customers order ‘non-fat’ milk. It’s pretty amazing how ‘non-fat’ spread like wildfire.

I think it’s just plain rude to disregard our cultural language the way Starbucks has. Little by little, America is molding us. I would hate to see it get so bad that we call toques ‘knitted ski caps’.

Michaela Gerussi