The Rural Voice, 1983-01, Page 14THE DISAPPEARANCE
OF
CANADIAN CHEDDAR
Delivery of the Milk
Ditching
PG. 14 THE RURAL VOICE, JANUARY 1983
by Susan Braley
The room is decorated in deep, rich
colours. The table is covered with crisp
linen. Choice wines in tall, tapered
bottles glisten in the candlelight. In the
centre of the table a generous piece of
aged cheddar cheese waits invitingly.
The setting is complete --the evening
promises to be an exquisite celebration of
the senses.
Such a celebration, however, may be
difficult to arrange in the future; a central
ingredient may be missing. Natural
Canadian cheddar cheese --and the
craftsmen who create it --are destined to
disappear. In Middlesex County, only
one cheddar cheese factory, Blanshard-
Nissouri of Wellburn, Ontario, is still in
production. Only six other cheddar
cheese factories remain in Western
Ontario. five in Central Ontario, four in
Eastern Ontario, and one in Northern
Ontario. Since 1970, between 150 and 200
cheese factories in Ontario have gone out
of business.
The Canadian cheese industry has
been crippled by complex changes in
government regulations, technology, and
labour and consumer attitudes. These
changes will have significant impact:
genuine first -grade cheddar will be
scarce, and the nondescript "variety
cheese" will be plentiful. The cheese -
maker as craftsman will find himself
redundant, and the programmed, high-
volume cheesemaking equipment will
prevail, Ed Bridgeman, former cheese -
maker at Mapleton Cheese Factory in
Mapleton, predicts that "in ten years, the
public will be used to flat, bland cheese."
Bridgeman, who has been a cheese -
maker for 44 years and who has gained
national recognition for his first -grade
cheddar, believes stringent government
regulations have played a major role in
diminishing the production of high-
quality cheddar. "We get tremendous
Susan Braley is a teacning master at
Fanshawe College in London, Ont.,
teaching courses in English and com-
munication. A graduate of U.W.O.,
Susan was raised on a dairy farm in
Waterloo county. was active in 4-H clubs
and. worked in public relations for the
Ontario Milk Marketing Board on a
part-time basis. She now assists her
husband and father on a beef and cash
crop farm at R.R. 2. Dorchester.