Because people remained silent when they came for the Roquefort

If the FDA’s overreach into cheese doesn’t compel you to grab your pitchfork and take to the streets, nothing will. Last week, we wrote about the FDA’s French cheese tyranny. Looks like the situation is only becoming more dire.

According to The Gazette, a cheese factory that specializes in cheese curds is shutting down. They’re not being shut down for a specific health violation or anything like that — they make good cheese. They’re closing up shot because compliance with new federal regulations will require more cash than they have to spend:

“From advanced food safety and quality assurance requirements to more stringent environmental regulations that would require substantial capital investment,” said Gary Weihs, president of Proliant Dairy Ingredients, in a news release. “As a result of the changing environment, we have decided to close the Kalona facility. This is a difficult decision and we will continue to explore other opportunities for the facility.” The facility employed 50 people. Impacted employees will receive compensation, severance pay and job placement assistance, the release said. John Roetlin wouldn’t comment on the factory’s fate. “It is what it is,” Roetlin said when contacted Thursday. He added the Kalona Cheese House, the factory’s store, will remain open despite the factory’s closure. A group of Amish and Mennonite farmers established the operation as co-op in 1946, according to the website. The farmers hired Swiss immigrant John Roetlin, Sr. to run the factory, which opened in 1947.

This isn’t just about cheese, it’s about a community who will now be forced to find other ways to make memories.

When Kathy Scheuerman first heard the factory might close, her heart sank. The Iowa City resident has long family connection to the facility where her grandmother, mother and sister worked. The 62-year-old remembers as a child visiting her grandma and watching her slice up cheese at the factory. The Kalona factory processed more than 1.2 million pounds of milk per day to make white cheddar cheese, according to Proliant’s website. When news of the factory’s demise spread, devoted fans flocked to social media to express their sadness. Iowa City resident Katy Brown created a “Save the Kalona Cheese Factory” Facebook page in solidarity. The page had more than 2,000 likes by Thursday afternoon. Posts promoted the hashtag: “Save the Squeak.” “I’m so sad about this,” said one Facebook commenter. “I’m seriously going to cry. These curds have been present at very single family get together that I can remember.” The cheese factory and store wasn’t just a business but a fixture in the community and a unique attraction, Scheuerman said. The factory’s location along Highway 1 meant travelers — both regulars and new visitors — could hop out of their car and grab some cheese. “It was an integral part of the Kalona community,” she said. “It was something special for all of the people who lived there whether they were Amish, Mennonite or not.” Denise Easley of Cedar Rapids said she was saddened by the factory’s potential closure and the loss of the locally made cheese curds. Easley said she’d recently been to the store and noticed the curds for sale were from an outside distributor and not the Kalona facility.



This is just another heartbreaking story of a community staple and family favorite suffering at the hands of an out of control bureaucracy that we pay to “help” us. Soon, we’ll be relegated to those nasty dye-ridden, individually wrapped cheese products. Obama’s America everyone… Obama’s America.

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Featured image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons



