It’s Time to Change Our Rind: An American Affineur Responds to the Camembert Crisis

“French Cheese Under Threat” read the report from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) on January 16th, 2024. In the ensuing weeks the findings of the report have been picked up around the globe. As is often the case when reporting on the impact of discoveries in microbiology and population genetics, there has been a lot of confusion around how to understand and interpret the science. The biology at the heart of the report is complicated. The same thing can be said of our relationship with the microorganisms that we rely upon for cheese production. Rather than sound the alarm that these beloved French cheeses are on the road to extinction, what if we saw this as an opportunity to rethink what it is that we value in cheese? A chance to not only expand the diversity of rinds produced, but also to redefine our responsibility to our microbial coworkers…