The Swiss Cheese Mafia

In 1999, it all came crumbling down.

An empire.

Or more accurately, a monopoly.

For 85 years, a single organization maintained near absolute, top-to-bottom control over one of Switzerland’s most sacred industries: Cheese.

Officially known as the Schweizer Käseunion (Swiss Cheese Union), this group did everything in its (unrivaled) power to ensure the continued prosperity of the Swiss cheese industry — from regulating cheese prices, to monitoring cheese quality, to marketing cheese both domestically and abroad … to committing cheese fraud and scamming the Swiss government out of millions.

Alright, we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. So let’s take a quick step back.

Oh, Hey. It’s Switzerland.

Land of a Thousand Cheeses

You may know Switzerland for its rich, tasty chocolates. Or for its high-end watches. Or for its gold-filled banks. Or for its Army’s little red knives with those foldable blades, corkscrews, and other gadgets.

But of all the industries that factor into Switzerland’s economy, its cheese industry is by far the most intriguing.

For starters, the cheese industry in Switzerland is old. Ancient, really. As author Judy Ridgway noted in her 2004 book, The Cheese Companion:

“Swiss cheese has a history as long and distinguished as that of French cheese. Many centuries before the birth of Christ, the Celtic ancestors of the Swiss used to make cheese in rough vessels slung over wood fires, cutting and stirring the curds with branches of pine.”

But far from being a mere footnote in Switzerland’s history books, cheese would go on to become an integral part of Swiss culture (and commerce). At one point, the Swiss even accepted their cheese as currency. As Ridgway wrote:

“The age and quantity of the cheese in the family cellar was seen as an indication of prosperity. This was not so surprising…