small restaurants rather than larger distributors that would have caught the attention of the cartel. After the collapse of the cartel, an explosion of new cheeses from Switzerland came onto the market, from recreactions of old recipes to continuations of classics like Sepp helped keep alive. Decline of the Union As the country's reputation shifted from that of a dairy farming nation raising cows to one peopled by scientists and engineers, concern grew over the vast sums of taxpayer money pumped into the dairy industry. In the 1960s and 1970s, the dairy industry purportedly cost the Swiss government more than the whole cost of the army of Switzerland. The Swiss Cheese Union sponsored the 1992-1993 Swiss National Ski Team. The team wore yellow ski suits with simulated cheese holes. After corruption charges were leveled against a number of the Swiss Cheese Union officials, the union was disbanded by the late 1990s. Dairy subsidies continued, but competition between cheese makers was reintroduced, causing prices to plummet. See also Swiss cheeses and dairy products References Further reading Schweizerische Käseunion AG in Liq., Moneyhouse (German language) Schweizerische Käseunion in Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz, Beat Brodbeck (German language) Defunct companies of Switzerland Economy of Switzerland Swiss cheeses Cartels