Why the U.S. Government currently stores 1.4 billion lbs of cheese?
Have you ever heard of underground cheese warehouses?
Let explore the existence of such warehouses across 35 different US states:
But how did these underground cheese warehouses come to be in the first place?
It all started during Prohibition in the 1920s. To stay in business, bars began turning into ice cream parlors, which led to increased dairy consumption.
This coincided with the accessibility of refrigeration, causing dairy farmers to focus solely on dairy products.
However, by 1949, there was an excess of milk in the market, which prompted the government to step in and buy all the excess milk, turn it into cheese, and store it underground.
This practice continued under every US presidential administration.
Through the 50s, 60s, and 70s. By the 1980s, the US government was spending a million dollars a day to refrigerate and store 500 million pounds of cheese.
As a result President Reagan attempted to sell off the surplus cheese in what was called the "Great American Cheese Auction."
The underground cheese warehouses are not open to the public, but they are an essential part of the US food industry.
The cheese stored in these warehouses is used in a variety of food products, including pizzas, burgers, and sandwiches, all thanks to the DMI:
"Dairy Management Inc. is an American trade association funded primarily by the U.S. Dairy Promotion Program, itself funded by government-mandated checkoff fees on dairy products and federal tax dollars and dedicated to promoting the sale of American-made dairy products"
Their entire job was to get the American people to eat and drink more dairy products, literally a cabal of individuals plotting behind the scenes to get people to eat more cheese it's the "cheesiest🧀" conspiracy of all time.
Take a look at their work:
If you like the extra cheese on your pizza, thank DMI:
But more cheese in the pizza will not solve the original problem, the excess of milk in the market, and what better way to solve this than with a government funded giant psychological operation...
I mean AD campaign?
"Got Milk?" is a famous American advertising campaign that was created in 1993 to promote the consumption of milk. The campaign was initiated by the California Milk Processor Board and was later adopted by the National Dairy Board.
Overall, "Got Milk?" is a prime example of successful American manipulation... I mean propaganda, using persuasive advertising techniques to promote a particular product and create a memorable brand image.
Regardless of that, the existence of underground cheese warehouses is a fascinating and little-known aspect of the US food industry history and government waste.
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