Friday Cheese*

As Juvenal once asked, who badgers the Badgers? Other  Badgers is who:

Many campus movements aim to boycott certain products. In Wisconsin, a state representative has introduced legislation that would bar any University of Wisconsin campus or state agency acting on behalf of a campus from purchasing cheese or “prepared food product” containing cheese — unless all of the cheese is manufactured or processed in Wisconsin. An aide to State Rep. Jeff Smith, the sponsor, said that while no data are available, the lawmaker has confirmed that some Wisconsin campuses are serving out-of-state cheese. Student opinion appears to be divided — at least judging unscientifically from op-eds in The Badger Herald of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Bassey Etim, a senior, in a column called “Wisconsin cheese not just about pride; it affects the whole damn planet,” argues that buying out-of-state cheese reflects the waste of American society where food is shipped thousands of miles away while local products are overlooked. Etim also does cite the pride factor, writing that “when visiting Dairy State-funded universities, no one expects to eat Californian or that godforsaken New York cheese.” But Tim Williams, another senior, argues in “No matter how tasty, cheese won’t solve problems” that giving Wisconsin cheese producers a monopoly is inappropriate, and that the state and its university system have more serious needs than giving more of an edge to the home-state dairy industry. Williams offers this advice: “Wear the cheesehead with pride, Wisconsin — just as long as there’s a brain underneath.”       

Is there a word that means interesting but silly? Beyond creating a business opportunity in the form of a black market for Cabot Extra Sharp for Badgers who want to know what a grilled cheese should taste like, the heart of this in the right place -- maybe. In terms of volume, and, you know, teachable moments, college dining halls are an appealing opportunity for local food advocates, viz, St. Alice's Chapel at Yale. However, this seems to be dairy protectionism masquerading as an eat local initiative, and points to the odd role that state boundaries play in this discussion -- in food mile terms, a cheese consumer in Racine would be better off with cheese from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, or Indiana than from Iron River, but it is the role of a state agriculture department to promote state agriculture, rather than local agriculture.**
*Vaya con  dios, Mr. Favre. The Cod is not a Packers fan, always had a little bit of a soft spot for #4 (football edition), because, he a) always seemed to be having more fun on the field than anyone else in the league, and b) magically transformed from brash gunslinger to grizzled veteran with no intermediate stage.
**This is a minor quibble compared to my ongoing dismay that my local supermarket ships goat cheese from California, rather than from the nice ladies down the road.

Comments

[JimK]

"Is there a word that means interesting but silly?"

yes. It's called "government." :)

[Jen]

"Is there a word that means uninteresting but silly?"

Yes, it's called JimK.

[JimK]

Any particular reason you decided to insult me over such a benign joke, or are you always this much of a ^&%#ing &|tch?

[Fesser]

Oh, get a room, you two.