(Photo: Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association)
While Wisconsin is known for its cheese, the cherished food has so far managed to avoid joining the list of state symbols.
It could soon be added to a gallery that includes the badger, the official state animal, and milk, the official state beverage, after the Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would designate cheese as the official state dairy product.
The bill was proposed earlier this year by a group of fourth graders at a Mineral Point school, who pointed out that 90 percent of the milk produced in the state goes on to become about three billion pounds of cheese.
It’s not the first time lawmakers have eyed cheese for a spot in the list of products, places, and animals that represent the state. A bill introduced in 2009 would have made it the official state snack, but that bill never received a vote in the full Legislature.
The vote sends the latest proposal to Governor Scott Walker, who is expected to sign it.