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Article: Cheese exchange history is marred with scandal.
- Article from:
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
- Article date:
- December 30, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Andrew Martin
Dec. 30--Dairy producers have carefully crafted a wholesome, all-American image, exemplified by the ubiquitous "Got Milk?" milk-mustache ad campaign. But the dairy pricing system has a long history of price manipulation and scandal.
Cheese dealers in Wisconsin were accused of price-fixing in 1911. A decade later, meatpackers were fingered for pushing up the cheese price in hopes that consumers would buy more meat.
The dairy industry was even embroiled in Watergate for giving the Nixon administration $2 million in campaign contributions in exchange for boosting federal price supports for milk. Among the contributors to the ...