France eases cheese rules over drought

France has temporarily relaxed its strict rules for producing some of its most famous cheeses due to a severe drought that has left pastures bare and fodder scarce. The government announced on Wednesday, August 26, that producers of Abondance, Beaufort, and Comté cheeses will be allowed to supplement their cows' diets with feed from outside their traditional grazing areas. The measures are a response to the widespread drought that affected 95 percent of mainland France in July, which has left normally rich grasslands depleted. The decision affects cheeses that carry the coveted "appellation d'origine protégée" (AOP) label, which guarantees traditional production methods and strict rules on where animals graze and what they eat. For Abondance, Beaufort, and Comté, hard cheeses made from the raw milk of cows grazing in the Alps and Jura mountains, these rules have become impossible to follow. According to the Agriculture Ministry's statistical service, growth on permanent grasslands as of August 10 was a third less than the 1989-2018 average. The ministry described the fodder situation as "highly degraded" in almost all regions.