Thanksgiving.  The truly American holiday dedicated to gluttony and imperialism.  No?  It is actually my favorite holiday, maybe for these exact two reasons.  I like to eat and I like to remember what it is to be an American (aside from the raping and pillaging of course). 

      But what first has come to mind this Thanksgiving is the question of Native American cheese, namely, does it exist.  Most tribes weren’t big into domesticating animals early on so this leaves us with a priceless image- a man chasing after a bufalo by the teat no doubt.  Maybe horses then, surely the earliest American cheeses must be from the equine family.  I’ve never had horse milk or cheese, but I have had camel’s milk cheese and for some reason I think they must be similar.  There must be that flavor reminiscent of urine and dirt in the pate somewhere.  The dairy products produced were most likely used in other dishes (correct me if I am way off here) and were masked by other, more enticing spices.

   I mentioned Sherman Alexie because, on a much more contemporary note, he discusses goverment issued cheese on the reservation in his short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tanto Fist Fight which was later turned into the fantastic movie  Smoke Signals.  He is one of my favorite writers, it is about time to revisit him.  he talks about contemporary Native American problems, including habits in eating. 

    On Thursday while you are slopping butter onto everything in sight think about the first Thanksgiving and ask your self: was there any cheese?

I know this is a blog about cheese but we all need our vegetables too.  Yesterday I wentto Queens, way out to Queens and visited the Queens County Farm Museum, well I didn’t so much visit as beg shamelessly to be allowed the privilege of sticking my hands in the dirt for a few hours.  Today is the first day Michael, the head farmer, will be selling his goods at the Union Square Green Market.  Think, how much more local can it get? 

yeah, that’s Queens. 

Anyway, everything from the farm is organic and fresh and cared for by a few loyal and loving farmers.  They have many many varieties of greens and a myriad of root vegetables.   It isn’t just a park but a real, functioning farm and if you want to learn more about where your food is coming from I recommend a drive out there  (n.b. via public transit it is a veritable nightmare).  They also have a lot of sheep, clean happy sheep, just begging to be milked and become cheese producers.  I can see it in their eyes.  Yeah, that sounds wrong.  Anyway, eat the veggies.

www.queensfarm.org

There has been a special request; a certain red headed cheesemonger wants to hear about the Laughing Cow.  It began as a discussion last evening at the bar and after a few hours, after she had left some of us went to the bodega across the street and bought a little net of wax covered cheese candies.  Some people think of slumming in terms of a one night stand or a deboucherous night at a shady bar- here at the cheese shop we think of it more in terms of industrialized cheese. 

 My parents used to put these in my lunch box when I was in grade school.  The cheese brought back a flood of memories, sitting at lunch in my school uniform, the aromas of Elmer’s glue and construction paper are as much a part of the flavor as the milk itself.  As it turns out we are in good company with these Laughing Cow memories.  The brand is owned by the Bel Group, founded in 1865, it is one of the largest dairy companies in the world.  The group has subsidiaries all over the world and creates marketing and products designed for each country- think the USA to Syria to Spain to Sweden and back again to Tunisia or Chile.  The genius of the Bel Group is mostly in their marketing and advertising.  They make cheese a snack food and a fast food while keeping low calories and health at the heart of their ad campaigns.  Miniaturization is also at the core of the business- the cheese is cute and hooks child consumers from an early age.  And it really works, I mean, we all work at a high end cheese shop and still crave this rather flavorless product ( I beg you to contest my feelings on its flavor, yes you brother).  The cheese also caters to a bachelor’s lifestyle with cheeses designed to make a simple cocktail hour snack.  I think I might pick some more up on my way home, some Tex Mex cubes or some Cheese Yatzi packs, and  mind you I am not being sarcastic- I’m turning into a junkie.

      Tomorrow the face of government cheese could change forever.  Or more likely the face of agricultural policies for small farmers, the guys we depend on for cheese.  Most New York City residents are not likely to be thinking about what the candidates will do for small farmers- but we all should be.  All of those purveyors who you regularly buy from at the Greenmarket are hanging on by a string while agribusiness tries to swallow them up. 

       Strong support of small farmers is good for our wallets, stomachs and the environment.  The government should be subsidizing small farms to encourage local economies- for us, the general tristate area and New England.  Most of our American cheeses hail from the great state of Vermont.

    So then, what do the two candidates have to say about small farms?  Well, nothing too clear.

 Senator John McCain believes that, “Farming and agriculture production is part of the backbone of our great country. As president, I will support addressing the larger needs of the farming community abiding by the same standards of common sense and fiscal restraint as demonstrated by our nation’s hardworking families.”

Obama said, “If Washington continues policies that work against America’s family farmers, our rural communities will fall further behind — and so will America. But if we reject the politics that has shut ordinary folks out, we can create a new story for rural America…”

Upon further reading on both of the candidates’ websites they actually tow a similar line.  Both promise to cut down on subsidies to agribusiness, change tariffs and put money into rural economies.  Hopefully this means cutting back on the chemically fertilized monoculture type of farm the government currently endorses with such energy and furvor.  The one difference is that Obama wants to work towards regionally supported agriculture.  McCain will push for freer markets and the reduction of trade barriers.  No real surprise there, at least for me, that Obama is the locavore of the bunch. 

    Where is this all going?  What does it have to do with cheese?  Well our farmers need us and they also need the government.  Farm insurance is largely dependent on the government.  A bad season, a disaster, illness can ruin a farmer’s livelihood.  In turn all of that local, organic and fresh food we city folk love can vanish as quickly as it arrived.  Those guys over at Slow Food keep telling us to “Vote with your fork,” they have a point, a big one and the values embodied by small scale agriculture depend on it.