A decades-old law in Wisconsin requiring butter be graded by a state or federal system is sending residents beyond dairyland's borders for their Irish butter needs, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Some residents are even driving into Illinois to find the unique brand of rich and creamy butter brands like Kerrygold.
"You can go over the border into Illinois or Minnesota and (buy Kerrygold)," Wisconsin resident Julie Rider told the newspaper. "The dairy industry has a stranglehold on our legislators."
The law was passed in the 1950s, the Tribune reports, but recently got the attention of the Irish press. People began sharing photos of their hordes of Irish butter on social media in response to the revived interest in the state ban.
One Wisconsin resident has since started a petition demanding legislators lift the ban, the newspaper reports.
The administrator for the Wisconsin Department of of Agriculture’s Division of Food and Recreational Safety, Steve Ingham, told the Tribune the law was not aimed at one specific brand of dairy product.
“We’re not a butter hit squad,” he told the Tribune, adding that his department is in talks with Kerry Gold and one other Irish butter company to possibly allow sales in the state.
Local
Until then, Wisconsinites in search of better butter will continue to stockpile the contraband dairy product in kitchens across the state.
As one resident told the Tribune, “I have a friend who has eight pounds in her freezer," before adding, “I just bought six."
