Did you know that the U.S. government has a $3.4 billion pile of golden blocks stored in caves under Springfield, Missouri, that you have probably never even heard about?
It’s true. This vault full of treasure began under President Jimmy Carter’s era. Carter made promises to the farmers of the United States, to help keep them in business with stable prices.
He decided the best way to help the farmers was price control.
Thus the vault below Springfield was founded to control the price of goods in the marketplace. By the time Ronald Reagan was president, the government was sitting on 30 million pounds.
Reagan proposed distributing it to those on government assistance.
In the 1990s, the stockpile continued to grow. The government collected the blocks faster than they could give them out, so they started making deals to sell the excess at a reduced price to fast-food restaurants.
Still, if the government didn’t want to bury itself in its own stockpile, the market needed to pick itself up.
That’s how the U.S. government got involved with the National Dairy Production Board.
Together, the dairy production board, a semi-public marketing group, created the “Got Milk?” campaign. They distributed supplies to the poor, influenced the official food pyramid and incentivized school distribution.
They promoted dairy across the nation so the government could cut back on the stockpile of gold blocks – or golden bricks of cheese.
You see, the dairy industry in the 1970s had a problem that has only grown since then. Milk production was growing faster than the demand for milk products.
The price of cheese and other products threatened to tank and bring the national economy with it, so the government bought millions of pounds of cheese to control the price and keep the industry afloat.
Thus was born the concept of “government cheese.”
And while today American citizens can access an array of decadent, exotic and even artisanal cheeses, and while everyone I know has only become more fanatical for cheese as more flavors became available to them, the divide between production and demand in the dairy world has only grown.
As a result, the government’s 30 million pound stockpile of cheese today is up to 1.4 billion pounds.
The dairy industry continues to get boosts by the government too. In 2016 alone, taxpayer money purchased $20 million worth of queso to keep dairy prices stable.
Technically, all that cheese is no longer “government cheese.” Through various partnerships, the U.S. government has technically passed ownership to private companies, no doubt at a lower price.
Ironic considering those same companies likely could help fix the problem by forking over more money to the dairy producers directly.
Regardless, our government continues to purchase stockpiles of cheese whenever subsidies are needed to stabilize the market. After all, the U.S. dairy industry has a $753 billion impact on the economy and directly employs 3.3 million people.
A failure of such a giant could spell disaster.
As of today, the United States has the largest domestic reserve of cheese in the world, and it is only expected to continue to grow.
I hope you don’t mind if I quote Marshall Mathers a bit here when I say: “This looks like a job for me.”
- 1 16-ounce loaf frozen bread dough (thawed)
- 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or olive)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise and pat it flat onto a greased cookie sheet or parchment paper. Cover the bread and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
Brush the dough with oil and then sprinkle it with garlic powder. Sprinkle the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese over the dough and then bake it for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Sprinkle the top with Italian seasoning while the bread is still hot.
Cut the bread with a pizza cutter and serve with pizza sauce for dipping.
By Michelle in the “Imaginable Meal Ultimates-Our Savory Specialties Cookbook”
- 1 8-ounce can artichokes packed in water
- 1 6-ounce jar marinated artichoke, drained
- 1 4-ounce can diced chilies
- 4 tablespoons mayo
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Chop the artichokes, then mix and distribute them evenly over the bottom of a well greased glass pan. Scatter the chilies on top and then carefully spread mayo all over.
Sprinkle the cheese, cover and chill. Cook at 350 degrees, covered, until hot and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes, then serve.
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