Boycotting an Israeli cottage industry

June 15, 2011 - 8:21 AM by David

We love our dairy products in Israel. When I first moved here, I couldn’t believe the number of white,creamy spreads on display in tubs in the dairy counter, and it took me years to figure out all the distinctions between the different percent ‘gvina levana,’ ‘eshel,’ yogurts and the countless other options.

But one familiar product on the shelf has always been cottage cheese, a staple in any Israeli diet. Creamier than its American counterpart, ‘cottage’ as it is called – with a long ‘o’ -is ubiquitous in our kitchens and menus

Which is why the public is mad as hell and apparently not willing to take it any more. We’re talking about the price of cottage, which according to a report in Ma’ariv, has risen by 60% over the last five years – from just under NIS 5 to almost NIS 8 for a 250 gram container.

A cantor in Bnei Brak has launched a Facebook campaign entitled “Consumer Boycott of Food Products,” in which he threatens to shun each month a new Israeli-made product whose price is 50% higher than in Europe or the United States. His first target? Cottage!

“We considered the prices of housing, we joined and opened groups, but then we realized that the protest must start in a place that applies to the entire public,” Yitzhak Alrov told Ynet.

“Maybe this way we will manage to reduce the prices and reach some level of sanity,” Alrov said, explaining that tast year the price regulation was removed from many dairy products. “In every place where price regulation is eliminated, the prices drop because of competition – but not in Israel. Here everything just rises, a real cartel.”

“If we don’t get over our desire and the momentary satisfaction we get from purchasing cottage cheese, we will never be able to reduce the price,” Alrov insisted. “There is no reason for us to be so disproportionately screwed.”

Cottage lovers are particularly irked at dairy product makers Tara, Tnuva, and Strauss for raising the prices on dairy products soon before the Shavuot holiday, traditionally a time to prepare dairy-based meals.

The Facebook page received over 20,000 ‘likes’ so far, but it’s unclear whether those fans will have gumption to leave the containers of cottage on the shelves until they spoil, forcing the companies to lower their prices.

Several supermarket chains already began announcing specials on cottage cheese following reports of the boycott efforts, among with one – Supersol – offering a buy one-get one free deal for cottage cheese.

That may weaken the resolve of the boycotters, who, let’s face it, must be passionate about cottage cheese to sign up for a boycott in the first place.

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