Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
This episode, we’re taking a closer look at how we store dairy, from modern refrigeration to cheese caves.
We had Samantha Zhang and Nat Hardy from our Possibly Team look into this.
Samantha Zhang: Hi, Megan!
Nat Hardy: Hello!
Megan Hall: In our last episode, we talked about the environmental impacts of dairy production, but how about storing all that dairy?
Samantha Zhang: Yeah, It doesn’t matter if it’s cheese, butter, or even dry milk, when we have extra dairy we need more cold storage.
Megan Hall: I’m assuming that uses a lot of energy, right?
Nat Hardy: It can, but there’s actually a way to store dairy efficiently--- using the earth! At one point in time, there were government-sanctioned cheese caves!
Samantha Zhang: To explain, we’re going to have to start with a little history lesson. It all goes back to a 1949 program when the government decided to buy lots and lots of storable dairy products.
Megan Hall: Why would they do that?
Nat Hardy: At the time, they wanted to protect dairy farmers and keep milk prices stable. So, the government became a very predictable customer.
Samantha Zhang: In the 70s, the program expanded, and the government was buying large quantities of cheese— so much cheese that they had to store it in caves!
Megan Hall: So there are caves somewhere in the United States that are just full of government cheese?
Nat Hardy: Well, the US government doesn’t really do that anymore.
Samantha Zhang: But there are still plenty of private groups that store their cheese in caves….
Nat Hardy: To figure out why, we talked to Doug Hales, a Professor of Operations & Supply Chain Management at the University of Rhode Island.
Samantha Zhang: He says, once you cool down a storage location, you want to minimize the energy you need to keep it cold.…
Dr. Hales: The key to efficient refrigeration, is the insulation of the facilities that are being cooled.
Samantha Zhang: Guess what’s great at maintaining cold temperatures?
Dr. Hales: The earth soil is one of the best insulators out there.
Nat Hardy: Companies like Kraft use spaces like Springfield Underground, an old limestone quarry and cave complex in Missouri, for cheese storage.
Samantha Zhang: And that’s not the only one.
Dr. Hales: Clemson University, they actually had an ice cream and cheese and mushroom growing facility inside caves in the area, for that very reason.
Megan Hall: So storing stuff in caves is a climate-friendly solution! Why don’t we do this with everything that needs to stay cold?
Nat Hardy: Well,
Dr. Hales: Earthen areas are difficult to be found close enough to the large cities.
Samantha Zhang: And this lack of natural spaces means we tend to turn toward modern refrigerated facilities.
Nat Hardy: But, some people have figured out a way to use the cooling power of the earth in places without natural caves.
Samantha Zhang: To find out more, we talked to Laura Haverland, the owner behind Sweet and Salty Farms right here, in Little Compton, Rhode Island.
Laura Haverland: Our cheese cave is an above ground space, because if you dig down in Little Compton, you very quickly hit the water table.
Nat Hardy: So instead of digging an entirely underground space—
Laura Haverland: We worked with our builder, and they thought they were going to have a lot of fill anyway, from creating the building space.
Samantha Zhang: They took that fill, the excavated dirt from digging the foundation, and piled it up on the sides of the building.
Nat Hardy: This eco-friendly building saves energy with its very own earthen insulation. And… there is another upside to this design.
[Cows grazing/mooing]
Samantha Zhang: For the cows!
Laura Haverland: The cows come and graze on top of the cheese cave. Because it’s grass, and that’s easier for us than cutting it or weed whacking it. And so the surrounding dirt is actually creating food for our animals as well.
Nat Hardy: So perhaps we can consider more green refrigeration solutions like the one from Sweet and Salty Farms.
Samantha Zhang: Who knew storing government cheese in caves wasn’t so absurd afterall…
Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Samantha and Nat!
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at ask possibly dot org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on social media at “Ask Possibly.”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Ocean State Media, and WBRU.
