I am extremely pleased to announce the sale of James Beard Award-winning author Catherine Donnelly's next book, tentatively titled The Raw-Milk Cheese Manifesto, to Chelsea Green Publishing. Cathy, who teaches at the University of Vermont, will be joining an industry leading, food- and sustainability-focused publisher based in White River Junction, VT. I may have to visit the Chelsea Green office when the book publishes in 2019, right around my 10-year Middlebury College reunion...
Briefly, the Manifesto is about the David vs. Goliath existence of artisan food producers fighting government agencies that are eliminating food choice under the false guise of food safety. Cathy, one of the foremost Listeria experts in the world, will discuss the myths and facts of raw milk and artisan cheese safety. But ultimately, the Manifesto tackles bigger questions: where and how our food is produced, the values we place on methods of food production, and the conflicting roles of tradition, heritage, and quality, versus advertising, politics, and profits which influence our food choices. Cathy argues for a new regulatory model, one that takes into account the cultural value of food, the importance of food choice, and other socioeconomic considerations beyond sterile microbiological concerns.
So, if you love delicious raw milk cheeses like Stichelton (Neal's Yard Dairy, UK) and Bayley Hazen Blue (Jasper Hill Farm, VT), have been outraged by the FDA's attempts to ban raw-milk cheeses and traditional cheesemaking practices (such as the use of wooden boards and ash in cheese ripening), or traced the near extinction of beloved European styles like Fourme d’Ambert and Cantal due in part to what Prince Charles called the “bacteriological correctness” of European regulators, then the Manifesto is the book for you.
Congratulations, Cathy! Maybe there will be more James Beards in our future :)
