It seems that when most people think of Pennsylvania and chocolate, they think of Hershey's, but this could be a fading correlation; Mars, responsible for products such as M&Ms and Dove chocolates, has moved in on Hersheys' terf, only about ten miles away from the main Hershey's factory. According to a CNN article, Mars wants to shoot down the popular notion that Hershey's chocolate is the only true American-made chocolate by setting up shop next door. All of this is happening while Hershey's is closing six of its factories in the U.S. and Canada in order to cut costs; it is outsourcing to cheeper places such as Mexico. It seems as though Mars has a sort of smear campaign against Hershey's, saying, with out specifically naming, that Hershey's is tricking consumers into thinking that it's chocolate is American made and that Mars is devoted to making American, pure, authentic chocolate. 

    Excuse m

e if I'm wrong, but when I buy cheap chocolate, such as that of Mars or Hershey's or Nestle, I don't really think about where it's made or how "authentic" it is; I think about taste and what I'm in the mood for...M&Ms or peanut butter cups...... And since when is the U.S. a top chocolate maker? Isn't Belgium the place we should want to get our chocolate from, if the origin does indeed matter? While yes, the idea of a sort-of-made-of-chocolate confection from some poverty stricken Southeast Asian Island isn't that appealing, and for that reason I can understand Mars' beef with outsourcing, it doesn't seem to me that I will ever stop buying Hersheys products just because it's made in another nation, as long as the quality stays the same, and the company doesn't start using sweat shops. Or, maybe I'm just being insensitive to the American jobs being lost due to Hersheys' closure of factories, especially in today's economy. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

photos from snacksatwholesale.com and thespoof.com