There have been many issues with French cheese coming into the United States because of France’s affinity for using raw milk. The FDA of the United States has standards necessary for soft-ripened cheeses, like Brie cheese, and semi-soft cheeses. “Both definitions permit the use of raw milk if the cheese meets the 60-day aging requirement” (Fletcher, 2005). However, according to Cathy Goldsmith of the Berkeley Cheese Board Collective, since this requirement has put into place, French cheese sales in the United States have dropped due to the difference in taste after the longer aging process. Customers have now been relying more on brie cheese produced inside the United States rather than older aged cheese from France (Fletcher, 2005).
The greenhouse gas emissions issue surrounding the dairy industry is an important issue that is currently being studied in the United States. While the United States sits on the other end of the exportation process, importation, they are an unavoidable part of the process. These studies have produced conclusions surrounding the debate between importing, eating locally-grown, and a dietary shift. The results have proven that “replacing red meat and dairy with chicken, fish, or eggs for one day per week would save the equivalent or driving 760 miles per year” (DeWeerdt, 2009). They have come to the conclusion that a dietary shift can be more helpful at “lowering an average household’s food-related footprint than ‘buying local’” (DeWeerdt, 2009). So while the emissions produced in the manufacturing of dairy are higher than other products and the travel that ensues during the exportation/importation of these products is harmful, replacing them from your diet once a week with food that produces less emissions is better environmentally than buying local (DeWeerdt, 2009).