It's a result of Jimmy Carter's dairy subsidies. There was a Planet Money episode about it, and the origin of the phrase "government cheese":
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/08/31/643486297/episode-862-big-government-cheese
this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2024
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Everyone makes fun of it, but that shit was sooooo damn good. My aunt and uncle got government cheese when I was really little, and I loved going over for visits and grilled cheese, lol.
They're preparing for the Dragonborn. He will need all 1.4 billion pounds of cheese to heal mid fight.
Ok who’s been messing with their Skyrim console commands?
You should see South Dakota's strategic cabbage chamber.
Idaho has potato caverns
I thought, "1.4 billion pounds of cheese can't be a real number, right?" Turns out, it kinda is. 1.4 billion pounds (actually generally 1.45-1.5 billion) is the amount of cheese the USDA stores in cold storage warehouses across the US. And indeed, much of that seems to be in caves in Missouri. But any particular cave probably only stores a few million pounds, although getting specific numbers is rather difficult.
Okay, see, if this were most of what the government did; I'd happily pay taxes.
I'd pay extra and ask how I could help. I'd be painting american flags on shit, instead of saying 'smash the state'.
That's just my emergency stash. I try to keep at least two week's worth of cheese there at any time.
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A moon-sized pizza to feed the Devourer of Worlds and save the Earth that way.
All they're doing is making earth's crust cheese stuffed.
Or it’s the government propping up Big Dairy
That's just the weekly stash
There’s a bunch of these huge warehouse-like caves in Missouri, some are more natural, but many have been developed. They are super valuable because of the natural climate consistency.
An example near Kansas City: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SubTropolis
I replied with this lower down then figured it might as well be a top level comment.
Here is a great YouTube video that explains not only this cheese cave, but the reason it even exists and then where we get the phrase "government cheese" from and the whole government program of propping up the dairy industry.
Wait until you see Iowa's yogurt lagoon.
Wisconsin is invading next week
Make believe they're home for a captured south European spy.
Ever wonder where the phrase "government cheese" comes from?
Not this, it comes from the free blocks of Velveeta style "cheese" the us government would give low income families in the 1980's
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This is my retirement plan. When the time comes, I'll hide in the vast caves and eat cheese the rest of my existence.
I would empty that place in an evening of "just one more slice and I'll go to bed"
I'd like to order an XL New York triple cheese pizza please... ummm, make that 2.
Cheesy plans
Diabetes 3
Being fat and full of cheese. Bliss.
El queso del gobierno
They're planning on selling a lot of cheese...
Giving everyone either horrible constipation or violent diarrhea.
Is American cheese any good? TV shows seem to imply it isn't but it seems weird you wouldn't have good cheese by now
Edit: I meant cheese made/available in the US, rather than the type called "American cheese". But thanks for the answers
There's a lot of incredible American- made cheeses, usually from more local cheese makers. Wisconsin and Vermont are the most fampus for their cheeses, but every state probably has good cheesemakers and there are some pretty good national brands. But the main cheese section at your typical grocery store is mostly just mass-produced cheap cheese that is probably more what you're referring too, which is fine for most uses (e.g. cooking) but eaten alone i would describe as perfectly fine but not great. A lot of grocery stores have a nicer cheese section, but it's usually in a section of the store more with other small bites.
We have normal cheese here too. American cheese is a specific kind of cheese, the same way Swiss cheese is. If you ask me, American cheese is nasty, but we do have good cheese in America
American cheese has its uses. Or at least 1.
It makes a perfectly serviceable grilled cheese sandwich.
If you're talking about the cheese called "American cheese", then it's somewhat polarizing in preferences. But just like all cheeses, it's made for a very specific purpose: in this case, being amazing at melting. As a result, it's best on cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc. But it also has a distinct, mild flavor that some don't like.
I thought the purpose of it was to do something with the milk the government garunteed it would buy from dairy farmers?
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I wouldn't go eat a slice of it, but it's good on burgers.
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If they start trucking in cornchips and jalapenos...
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