– You cannot move identity from a district where food is produced to a PC in a city, says celebrity chef Arne Brimi. He fights for Gudbrandsdal cheese to continue to be produced in Gudbrandsdalen. Now Tine wants to go through the entire operation. This is because people drank less milk than before, because more milk products are constantly being imported into Norway, and because competition has become tougher in the dairy industry. Tine has decided that all milk production will be shut down in Ålesund. On 27 September, the board of Tine will consider a recommendation on where Gudbrandsdal cheese will be produced in the future. Production in Lom and Skjåk may be shut down. This week, Tine will decide whether the Gudbrandsdal cheese will be produced at the Lom & Skjåk Dairy or not. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Fighting for the dairy Now 17 employees may lose their jobs, and 24 niche products may have to be produced at other dairies and cheese factories. – Gudbrandsdal cheese is an important part of Tine, and an important part of our history. It is a product we are proud of, and which belongs in Gudbrandsdalen, says mayor Edel Kveen (Sp) in Skjåk. Arne Brimi believes that Gudbrandsdal cheese has been the foundation of Tine, that it has built up Tine. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Brimi believes it is important that Gudbrandsdal cheese is produced where it comes from. – I think it has something to say, not just for the identity in Gudbrandsdalen, but it has something to say for identity in the whole of Norway, that things can be where they come from, says Brimi. And the battle for the dairy has been fought by Gudbrandsdølan before. Gudbrandsdal cheese is today produced in Gudbrandsdalen. There will also be Heidal Brunost, Stølstype Goit cheese, Innherred Brunost, Julebrunost, Bestemorost, Fløtemysost Lett and Sognaost. In addition, they produce Namdalsgomme, Sunnmørssøst, Mølsgomme and Vossadravle. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Considered closed before In 2010 it was known that Gudbrandsdal cheese could disappear from Gudbrandsdalen. Then the people boycotted Gudbrandsdalsost, which was not produced at Lom & Skjåk dairy. Nine months later, it became known that the brown cheese champions had won the battle, because brown cheese production was to continue in Gudbrandsdalen. Later, even the farm where the brown cheese was discovered was preserved. Also in 2006, it was decided that there would still be dairy production in Lom and Skjåk. The production of Gudbrandsdal cheese may be moved. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news – We took this fight 12 years ago, and we probably have to take it one more time, and tell what possibilities there are with this identity this creates, says Brimi. Brimi says centralization and farmers giving up milk production are not good. He believes that identity cannot be moved. – If you take the Tromsø football team and move it to Stavanger, then all identity is lost. That is what I have experienced in the villages, that what is good is taken and moved. Fortunately, they cannot move Besseggen and Galdhøpiggen, says Brimi. Unique pot cooking Mayor Edel Kveen (Sp) in Skjåk says it is important for the region that they focus on agriculture and milk production in the future as well. Mayor Edel Kveen (Sp) in Skjåk says the Ysteriet in Lom and Skjåk means a lot for, among other things, the local milk production, both when it concerns cows and goats. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Today, around 10 percent of the G-35 cheese is produced at Lom & Skjåk, while the rest is distributed between Byrkjelo and Storsteinnes, both of which have produced G-35 for several decades. Nevertheless, Kveen believes that there is something special about the production in Lom and Skjåk. – It is only Lom & Skjåk that has the pot-cooked product which is the brown cheese, but they also have a number of other products that need a pot-cooked pot plant, says Kveen. Kveen pointed out that they locally took the initiative for Gudbrandsdal cheese day, and that they have also gotten young athletes to talk about dairy products. So they have run positive marketing for Tine and G35. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Kveen fully understands that Tine needs to improve efficiency, but believes that something must be done with the equalization scheme. – Then listen to me politically and take a closer look at that arrangement, so that Tine can be on equal terms of competition with others in the future, says Kveen. Gudbrandsdal cheese is made at Tine Meieriet Lom & Skjåk. – This is where the Gudbrandsdal cheese is cooked in the old way, says Kveen. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Not yet decided Kjell Magne Lunna is a trustee at the cheese factory and says it will be interesting to find out what will happen to the dairy. Although he understands that Tine has to change the production, he hopes that they can continue the operation as it is today. – There are 17 jobs, and a small municipality, so it is important that we can continue with the products we have, says Lunna. Kjell Magne Lunna says they can make three or four different products in a week, and maybe even more. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Hans Ulberg is a board member of Tine and points out that with less demand for milk and milk products, there will also be fewer liters of milk to be handled, and that the entire dairy structure will be looked at. – Tine has a very widespread plant structure, and fortunately is all over the country, with over 30 plants, but at one point or another the excess capacity becomes too large and then you have to do this job and look at the whole structure as one, says Ulberg. Hans Ulberg is a board member at Tine and says he is happy to see that there is a great commitment to the dairy and to what is going on in Tine. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Ulberg says that when there is a change in the industrial structure, whether it concerns dairy cooperatives or butchers’ cooperatives, it raises feelings. – But, it is a situation that we have to stand in. We have confidence that the decisions that have been made, they have been made for the best for the whole community, says Ulberg. Communications director Ingrid Wilberg Arnesen in Tine wrote in an e-mail to news that it is not right for them to comment on the structure settlement before the board has made a decision. They write that they cannot pre-process outcomes in the media. Tine also writes that they are concerned with taking care of Norwegian food traditions, and they will continue to be so in the future, regardless of the decision.
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Production of Gudbrandsdal cheese in Gudbrandsdalen may come to an end – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
