Talk:Government cheese

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[edit] NPOV tag

Here's the passage I'm most concerned with: The cheese was often from food surpluses stockpiled by the government as part of milk price supports; the stockpiling was meant to create an artificial demand for milk, making it more expensive...ironically, making it necessary to then help poor people afford to buy it.

In my opinion, it's a sound economic argument (assuming the first clause is correct - it needs a citation in any case). But it's not a fact. It's an opinion. And it has no place in Wikipedia. Please consult the Neutral point of view and No original research pages for further details. -Juansmith 18:56, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

You're right. Completely non-NPOV. 100% speculation not backed up by references. Removed (someone had to do it...) Jake b 22:13, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Can someone add to this page? I would love to see more information on how the program was distributed.

Iansanderson 17:10, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Actually, the program was designed to keep a stable market for dairy products, by buying up products when there was an oversupply, and not buying otherwise. This was intended to help keep prices down, by avoiding 'shortages' and corresponding sudden price rises.

Note that you can not suddenly ramp up the production of milk -- it takes several years to breed a cow, produce a calf, select the females and raise them up to milking age. That doesn't happen overnight! If the milk price suddenly drops, a dairy farmer gets out of the business by sending all his cows off to slaughter. It takes quite a financial investment, and a fair amount of time, for that farmer to get back into business. So the thought was that preventing wild swings in the price paid for milk would keep farmers in the business, and keep a steady supply of milk, thus being the most economical in the long run. T-bonham 02:10, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Sure, some people do that, but they shouldn't. The biggest economic problems come when the gubmint does something smart but the bidnisses respond in a reactionary and unintelligent way.

[edit] Where was it produced!! that info belongs in this article!!

we have to find out where this cheese was produced people still want this cheese!! It probably was terrible for your health but everyone says it was the best tasting cheese they had ever eaten!

-- I believe the cheese tasted unusually good because it was aged longer than most store-bought cheese, by sitting around in warehouses. Cheese sold for profit has quicker turnover than cheese produced as surplus. This is speculation but it stands to reason.

Good question. I think that would be interesting, too. I do know that Land O' Lakes still makes a type of cheese called Pasteurized Process American Cheese, but I just found that on the internet. I haven't seen it in the stores yet. Fredsmith2 15:48, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
I would image Kraft was at least one of the makers in the beginning, 50s/60s, as they have been the largest in the US and one of the largest in the world for 100 years. The govt overpaid for the cheese, but the standards for the cheese were extremely high. Dad was in the military, so we bought it at the commissary all the time, makes the best macaroni and cheese. Huge blocks a foot long. Very high milk fat content, and was priced fairly cheap since they sold it at cost or less to military families. As a point of comparison, go look at the grocery store shelf: you notice that Kraft Singles are NOT qualfied for WIC, but their Deli Cheese (at twice the price) is. This is because there isn't enough cheese in "Singles" to qualify and meet the standard. Their Deli American is the closest thing to old fashioned 'gubmint cheese', but still pales in comparison. Pharmboy 21:40, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Should this discuss package volumes?

I remember (from Minnesota in the 1970's and early 1980's) that one of the complaints about this product was the package sizes. The Government cheese came in 10-pound blocks, which is a bit much for a small family to use up. A lot of it went into hot-lunch programs, Veterans' nursing home kitchens, etc., where that size was fine. But could be a problem for a mother & a couple of kids. T-bonham 02:10, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Shouldn't this article discuss adverse reaction?

I've watched enough In Living Color to know that supposedly this stuff locks up yer bowels. (I could use some of that, then I could safely imbibe prunes)

All cheese will lock up your bowels, especially if you are poor and all you are eating is free cheese. 71.185.231.154 04:49, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

The only info I found about the negative effects of this cheese was on Urban Dictionary, and sadly I can't quote that on here, because it violates too many policies. Fredsmith2 15:44, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removed a link

Removed a link from the See Also section which led to an "Audio recording of The Rainmakers performing 'Government Cheese' live in concert." Didn't seem all that relevant. Shostie 14:17, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Presliced?

The article says that government cheese was presliced. I was given some cheese back in the '80's that I was told was government cheese, and it was a solid brick, not sliced. I looked for unsliced American cheese later, and couldn't find it for sale.

Scott Haley (talk) 19:45, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

  • What we used to get was presliced. We got it from two sources: The military commissary and, um, dad's work. (he ran chow halls in the military until the early 70s). I am not aware of any that was unsliced, although it is certainly possible. I am trying to find more info on it, but it isn't easy to find since they cancelled the programs that used it in favor of WIC back in the 80s, well before the advent of the internet. And yes, it was really good quality, as the govt bought up all surplus that met the grade to keep prices up. The only place you can get unsliced American cheese now (that I know of) would be the deli. Most supermarkets sell it block, as much or as little as you want, but it isn't the same. Maybe better, maybe worse, depending on source. Pharmboy (talk) 01:36, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

I have lived in Fort Lauderdale since 1983. The surplus cheese we used to get was a four pound brick of something that resembled cheddar or colby. Honey was free, too. If you were willing to stand in line for it, no one asked for proof of being poor, although I was. I miss the stuff. Decent cheese costs more now than meat. 65.9.38.170 (talk) 00:46, 23 January 2008 (UTC)David65.9.38.170 (talk) 00:46, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Living on Government Cheese

While the phrase is consistent with the cultural use of the term, even the term itself was uncommon enough that many younger (18-25) people I'd asked didn't know exactly what "government cheese" was, most thought it was just "low grade cheese" and were unaware that it referred to a form of government assistance to individuals... awareness of the two word phrase seems pretty low these days, and for those who are aware of it, I'm not sure that there's even a notable difference between "Living on Government Cheese" and "Living on foodstamps" and "Living on welfare" in terms of how the phrases were ever used culturally.

So I've pulled the citation needed, and instead listed the phrase as an example of how the term can be used in a non-literal cultural sense. 70.190.70.128 (talk) 02:46, 7 May 2008 (UTC)