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'Coon' Branded Cheese Under Attack in Australia - 28 Oct 2008
One of Australia's best known cheeses, 'Coon' cheddar, has been branded as grossly offensive. Anti-racism activist Steve Hagan is campaigning to get the name of the cheese changed after saying it is racist and offensive to Australia's indigenous people. His campaign comes after he successfully persuaded the government to erase the word 'nigger' from a sports ground. Dairyfarmers, the company that owns the 'Coon' brand, has asserted that the cheese is named after its developer Edward Coon, who lodged a patent for the cheese in 1926. In dispute of this, Hagan claims he has information that proves the cheese was named 'Coon' ten years before the patent was lodged, and that it was given that particular name because at the time it was sold with a black paper wrapping.
