The king of cheese
Image: @dailysheep1
King Charles III, in his previous incarnation as the Prince of Wales, had a hand in supporting and promoting the UK’s artisanal cheese sector, the BBC Radio 4 programme informed me this morning. Apparently back in the 1980s, he got the government and the industry together to ensure that artisanal cheese producers were protected and encouraged, and as a result we have more than 700 cheeses made on these fair isles. It is a legacy that we enjoy today, and with any luck, the current government won’t throw it away.
Meanwhile, the agricultural past was celebrated here in London with the annual driving of sheep across London Bridge on Sunday, the Sheep Drive & Livery Fair. It is an event hosted by the Worshipful Company of Woolmen and is a celebration of London Freemen’s right to herd ovines across the bridge, but also of sheep products. Again, King Charles has been a proponent of wool as a natural, environmentally friendly material for use in all types of uses.
It seems that while the country celebrates the ancient, industry participants are employing these products to look to the future. My friends did attend and told me that the Cotswold Blacklion vodka made from sheep cheese making whey was worth having.
These events remind me of what can make these places great – respecting the past while aiming towards the future. That’s what modern agriculture and the dairy industry is about. We celebrate the dairy, and the rural community’s part in supplying the cities with nutritious foods and drinks. Or not so nutritious in the case of the vodka, but certainly enjoyable and very worthwhile.
And lastly, happy World School Milk Day on Wednesday, everyone. Feeding the world’s children nutritious and reliable foods, is what dairy is about.
To read more about King Charles III’s efforts to help artisanal cheese makers, please visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63011145.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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Twitter: @dairyindustries or LinkedIn: Dairy Industries International magazine.
