The Swiss Cheese Union was a marketing and trading organization in Switzerland, which served as a cartel to control cheese production from 1914 to 1999. To this end, the Swiss Cheese Union mandated production be limited to only a few varieties, chiefly Gruyere and Emmental, and bought the entire production and distribution of cheese at prices set by the Swiss Federal Council. It also coordinated the national and international marketing for these varieties of cheese.
The Swiss Cheese Union was particularly successful in campaigning for cheese fondue, which became a very popular dish in Switzerland and abroad. It is now often considered to be the Swiss national dish. Before that, it was only a regional dish.[1]
History
1914-1920s
Throughout the course of World War I, Switzerland remained neutral and maintained the health of its massive cheese production industry. Exports of the product suffered in part due to the devastation wrought upon customers in the surrounding countries; these numbers would remain low until after World War II. The war exacerbated this further as a lack of hay and fodder to use as feed for dairy animals showed sharp decreases in production.[2]
In an effort to combat this slump in exports, cheese producers were determined to develop strict non-compete guidelines, establishing a cartel that became known as the Swiss Cheese Union. According to journalist Robert Smith, "The union set the price for milk. It told dairymen how much milk to produce and who they could sell it to. They told the cheesemakers how much cheese to make, and then set the prices for the cheese. And it was all so complicated, this cheese business, that they actually narrowed down the number of cheeses that people could produce. Switzerland used to make over 1,000 different kinds of cheeses; the Cheese Union supported seven."[3]
Inter-War Period
See also
- Swiss cheeses and dairy products
Further reading
- Schweizerische Käseunion AG in Liq., Moneyhouse (German language)
- Schweizerische Käseunion in Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz, Beat Brodbeck (German language)
References
- The Oxford Companion to Cheese Oxford University Press, 2016^
- Erik Devaney. The Swiss Cheese Mafia ThinkGrowth.org, 2015-11-14, retrieved 2019-06-25^
- Episode 575: The Fondue Conspiracy NPR.org, 10 October 2014, retrieved 2019-06-21