Sigh. I do too, Wendy. I do too. The green stickers, of course, indicate which cheeses are made from raw milk at the Cheese Board. Only a few months ago, most of the French chevres proudly displayed the bright green dot. Now, they are few and far between. The FDA, through new regulations passed by the Department on Homeland Security, has been tightening its restrictions on imported cheeses. There is still a decent selection of raw-milk cheeses that have been aged for over sixty days (they're legal), but it has been increasingly difficult to find younger ones. We can find pasteurized Selles-sur-Cher, Valancay, St. Maure and Pouligny-St. Pierre, but they're just not the same. And we can forget about ever finding Camembert de Normandie (although I have a personal source who may be delivering my beloved straight to my office this week... let's cross our fingers and pray). According to the cheesemongers I've spoken with, the availability is only going to get worse. But a light shines in the darkness, and sometimes, a treasure manages to slip past the inspectors, like Vacherin Mont d'Or. Signaling the beginning of fall, it appeared at local cheese counters about a week ago. Of course, I purchased one - it's ripening in my home as I type. A review will follow. But I can't help but wonder... what's going to disappear next?
I believe I speak for all of us here at the Cheese Diaries (although I haven't asked, so I apologize to my fellow authors for presuming) when I say that it saddens and disappoints us to witness the diminishment of availability of raw milk cheeses. It's not just a domestic issue, it's a global one. Apparently, the EU and the WTO are beginning to regulate unpasteurized cheeses as well.
So, we ask you - no, beseech you - plead on our hands and knees to add your name to Slow Food's petition in support of unpasteurized cheeses:
You can help this cause by sending the following message,
"I also eat raw-milk cheeses" to the email address rawmilk@slowfood.com.
Slow Food's Manifesto follows.
Manifesto in defense of Raw-milk Cheese
Raw-milk cheese is more than a wonderful food, it is a deeply embedded expression of our finest traditions. It is both an art and a way of life. It is a culture, a heritage and a cherished landscape. And it is under threat of extinction! Under threat because the values it expresses are in opposition to the sanitation and homogenization of mass produced foods.
We call on all food-loving citizens of the world to respond now to the defense of the unpasteurized cheese tradition. A defense of a food that has for hundreds of years inspired, given pleasure and provided sustenance but is now being insidiously undermined by the sterile hand of global hygiene controls.
We call for an end to all discriminatory regulations from EU, WTO, Food and Drug Administration and other government Institutions that needlessly restrict citizens' freedom of choice to purchase these foods, and threaten to destroy the livelihood of the artisanal craftsman who produce them.
We deplore attempts by regulatory authorities to impose unattainable standards of production, in the name of protecting human health.
We believe that such impositions will have the adverse effect of that intended. The bacteriological health of our unpasteurized dairy products is being destroyed by overzealous sterilization procedures. So will the health of human beings destroyed through a diet of sterile food, Without any challenge, our immune system will fail and our medication become ineffective.
Moreoever, the unique flavor and aroma of the cheese are conserved by non-pasteurization.
We therefore call upon those who have it in their power to safeguard the diversity and complexity of our regional foods and the health and stability of our rural communities to act now and ensure a flexible, fair and appropriate regulatory framework; sensible controls and a positive disposition concerning the future.
Be aware - that once the knowledge, skills and commitment of this culture have been lost, they can never be regained.
Posted by connie at October 27, 2003 11:56 AM | TrackBack