Cheeses made from raw milk are regarded as the best in the world.  When international food lovers and dignitaries come to Australia they are served Australia’s best wines, but very often accompanied by imported raw milk cheeses. This happened to Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food when he recently visited Australia.  ”Where are your raw cheeses!”, he exclaimed.

ARE THE REST OF THE WORLD’S PEOPLE ENJOYING RAW MILK CHEESES?

Yes most are, and have done so for centuries, some for millennia.  France, Italy, the UK and most of Europe have the right to enjoy raw milk cheeses.  Half the states in the USA are enjoying raw milk cheese and more are joining in, as are Canada and New Zealand.

IF THE REST OF THE WORLD ARE ENJOYING RAW MILK CHEESES? WHY NOT AUSTRALIA?

Good question.  The making of raw milk cheese is being prevented in Australia by archaic regulations developed before quality assurance programs were available that could deliver low risk outcomes.  The work has moved on, but Australia is stuck in the past.  As a result Australians are being denied their right to enjoy the very best of cheese, and our cheese-makers are being denied their right to produce them.

WHAT MAKES RAW MILK CHEESE SPECIAL?

Taste and variety! Artisan cheeses made from raw milk exhibit flavours and diversity not found in an industrial product.  Raw milk cheeses deliver taste in abundance.

SO ARE RAW MILK CHEESE SAFE TO EAT? AND CAN THEY BE SAFE IN AUSTRALIA?

Any food involving the use of bacteria to make it involves a small level of risk - and that includes both raw and pasteurised milk cheeses.  However, the dairy industry worldwide is one of the safest, including in those countries that enjoy raw milk and raw milk cheeses. All that is required is that Australian cheese meet international benchmark levels of acceptable risk no matter how or what milk cheese are made of.

WHAT ABOUT EXPORT POTENTIAL FOR AUSTRALIAN RAW MILK CHEESE?

50 years ago Australia did not have a wine culture and exported very little wine.  Today Australia is recognised as the world’s best wine producing and export nation*. Unfortunately regulations prevent Australian cheese-makers from producing unique raw milk cheeses, so our export potential for raw milk cheeses is currently zero.  If realistic regulations were in place, Australia would become a leading quality cheese exporting nation.

DO REGULATIONS PREVENT INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIAN CHEESES?

Absolutely.  Currently Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) are telling our cheese-makers how to make cheeses via prescriptive regulations.  The last thing an artisan cheese-maker needs to be told by bureaucrats is how to produce cheeses.  Prescriptive regulation prevents experimentation, artistry and innovation by our cheese-makers, and stops the development of Australian world-class cheese.

SO WHAT SHOULD AUSTRALIAN REGULATORS DO TO HELP FOSTER OUR CHEESE INDUSTRY?

Set standards that enable our cheese-makers to compete on the world stage with internationally recognised benchmarks for safety.  Then get out of the way and let Australian cheese-makers develop exquisite quality cheeses that meet the standards by whatever method they choose or develop.

DO OUR REGULATORS THINK THAT AUSTRALIAN CHEESE-MAKERS AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE RAW MILK CHEESE?

That is the inescapable and insulting conclusion drawn from the law as it now stands, when we can eat imported raw milk cheese, but not those made by our own cheese-makers. This is far from the case.  Indeed, using pasteurised milk, Australia makes some of the world’s finest cheeses.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP AUSTRALIAN CHEESE-MAKERS AND LOVER OF GOOD CHEESES?

Sign the Slow Food petition and get all your friends and family to do so as well.  Download copies of the petition and give these to all people who enjoy good food and want to support our local producers and farmers.

by John Newton

Slow Sydney held their Annual General Meeting in a friendly – and apposite – environment, the NG gallery in a 19th Century Gothic Revival building in the pint-sized inner city suburb of Chippendale.

Upstairs, where the meeting was held, is the gallery, run by Nicky Ginsberg. Downstairs, where we ate later is the very fine Mission restaurant run by Piera Potter, a big thank you to them both for their combined efforts.

As  I said, holding the 2009 AGM in a gothic Revival building was apposite: we witnessed a most satisfying revival of interest in Slow Food: I don’t know how many were there, but we had two rows around the table and many who couldn’t fit.

Of course Carlo Petrini’s visited had piqued interest in Slow, but there was another mood in the room: Sydney people want to take control of their food supply, and they’re in line with the new mood of political activism generated both at a local Convivium level, and in Bra.

A new committee was elected (see below), containing many talented and fresh faces, the marketing plan was outlined, and discussion centred on what should be our major objectives for the coming year.

Business finished it was downstairs for the convivial part of the evening, with Piera and her team providing fine food and wine.

If this AGM is anything to go by, Twenty Ten should be a landmark year for Slow Food Sydney.

COMMITTEE

Convivium Leader:  Syd Pemberton

Treasurer:    Peter Kenyon

Membership Services: Marco Cocurullo

Edible Schoolyard Programme: Syd Pemberton and Jo Gardiner

Newsletter:  Alexis Smith

Website:   Valeria Simcic

Public Relations: Lisa Cowan

Secretary:   Phee Gardner

Marketing:   Yvonne Grant

Food Issues lobbyist: John Newton

Events:    Syd Pemberton

Youth Co-coordinator:  Oday Kamal

Slow Food Guide:   Peter Kenyon/John Newton

The following members offered support on important Slow Food Issues -

Ark of Taste:   Cherry Ripe

Sydney Farmers Action: Michael Champion

Terra Madre Ambassadors for 2010: Alex Herbert, Michael Champion, Aunty Beryl

Volunteer Co-ordinator: Yvonne Grant

from Slow Food Australia website

2009 Australian brochure describes our branches, known as convivia, our projects and events, and our links to the world of Slow Food.     

As founding member Maggie Beer - the well-known South Australian cook - describes the organisation: ‘It’s about forming networks between farmers and consumers, learning about the land and its limitations, and preserving regional food practices. It has thousands of members in over one hundred countries, all linking the pleasure of food with a real commitment to the community and to the environment. Slow Food is very close to my heart, and I really encourage anyone who can to get involved.’

You can download a PDF copy of the brochure here.  national-brochure-091011

An interesting analysis which explores the socio-cultural intersection between agriculture and urbanization in Sydney Basin. This paper, written by David Mason and Ian Knowd, analyzes how Hawkesbury Harvest can enhance its contribution to Sydney eventually having a truly sustainable food system. Read all their article: hhhistory

During his recent visit in Australia, Slow Food international president Carlo Petrini had lunch in a Perth restaurant where he was offered three type of raw milk cheese, all from overseas. Petrini asked: ‘Are the French and Italian bacteria better than the Australian ones? Is it fair that Australians can pay for French and Italian bacteria and not for Australian ones? That’s not fair for Australian producers. With this issue, Slow Food has been able to win in the United States. Now, with 30,000 members in the United States, Slow Food has managed to change a stupid law. And if we can win in the United States we can also win in Australia. From that campaign in the United States we now have cheese makers in Montana, in California, and in Massachusetts. All over the United States we have a growing army of cheese makers, and the cheese is excellent. This is the great force of diversity”.


Slow Food Australia has now launched a public campaign to allow raw milk cheese to be made in Australia.

Raw milk cheese has a long tradition in Europe; other countries, such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand have recently changed legislation to allow its production. Australian consumers, instead, are still being denied the opportunity to taste home produced raw milk cheese.
Michael Croft, Slow Food project coordinator, says that Food Standards Australia New Zealand – the authority responsible for Australian food regulation – has to decide in early 2010 if protocols are to be changed to enable the making and sale of Australian cheese from raw milk.
“We have an opportunity to encourage food diversity, build skills and knowledge, and return opportunity to Australia’s rural heartland,’ he said. ‘We want government to allow Australian dairies to make and market raw milk cheese of quality. We call on government to enable our cheese makers and consumers to choose.’

If you want to sign, here’s the link to the online petition, or to the multiple signature petition.

“We must allow Australian cheese makers to make their cheese with raw milk. When you pasteurize milk you deprive it of its soul. There is no difference anymore. Instead, what can you taste with raw milk? You can taste the breed, the grass that the animal ate, if it comes from the mountains, hills or valleys, you can taste the expertise of the cheese maker, and so it becomes a pleasure. So difference becomes the real strength.” Carlo Petrini