75K Join Facebook Protest Against Cost of Cottage Cheese

...and it seems to be working
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 17, 2011 2:17 PM CDT
75K Join Facebook Protest Against Cost of Cottage Cheese
A consumer picks up a tub of cottage cheese inside a supermarket in Jerusalem, Friday, June 17, 2011.   (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

In a region rife with Facebook-fueled uprisings, Israelis have launched a modest revolt of their own—against the price of cottage cheese. By today, more than 75,000 people had joined a Facebook group vowing to boycott cottage cheese, a staple of the Israeli diet, until prices dropped. Even more surprising, it's working. The price of cottage cheese has rocketed up 39% since 2008; spooked by the outrage, some supermarkets have already put cottage cheese on sale, and the country's politicians have also taken note.

Consumers blame price-fixing by the three large companies that control the market. In response, officials say they may import dairy goods to increase competition, or include it in a group of “basic” foods that the government controls the price of. "Cottage cheese is not the essence of the struggle, it's just the symbol of a greater protest," one of the organizers told reporters yesterday. (More Israel stories.)

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