This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here.
Coon Cheese will no
longer be seen on market shelves after facing backlash from anti-racist people
saying the name “coon” is a racial slur for black people. The company who own
the cheese product- Saputo Dairy Australia- will change the name of the cheese
product from Coon Cheese into Cheer Cheese but with unchanged recipe.
“Coon Cheese is to be rebranded in Australia to Cheer after a campaign
by activists against the word's racist connotations. The well-known brand, which has been around for more than
80 years, will disappear from shelves in July. The cheese is owned by Canada's
Saputo Dairy Australia which announced last year it would "retire"
the name.”(BBC)
“Coon, which has operated for 85 years,
takes its name from pioneering American cheese processor Edward William Coon. However,
the word is also a racial slur used against people of colour. There have long
been calls to ditch the name, but the controversy reached a tipping point in
2020 as the Black Lives Matter movement swept around the world.”(7News)
“Saputo Dairy Australia, which owns the brand, confirmed it was
changing the name in July last year following
calls led by academic Stephen Hagan for a rebranding."I said that the
cheese brand was offensive, I said that it demeans people of colour," Dr
Hagan told the ABC at the time…….. Today, Saputo Dairy Australia announced the
name was being changed to Cheer Cheese, with the rebranded packaging to hit
supermarket shelves across the country by July. "Treating people with
respect and without discrimination is one of our basic principles, and it is
imperative that we continue to uphold this in everything we do," Saputo
chief executive Lino A Saputo said. "Our decision to change the name of
Australia's much-loved cheese reinforces this commitment to build a culture of
acceptance, inclusion and respect where everyone feels a sense of
belonging." The company's commercial director, Cam Bruce, said the
packaging would be similar to the current branding and the recipe would remain
unchanged.”(ABC)
The rebranding or
the renaming and the new name was brought by consumer research wherein the new
name emerge because their consumers have that feeling while enjoying the cheese
product.
“"Cheer Cheese will continue to be made
locally in Victoria from Australian milk, supporting local dairy farmers,"
he said. He said the name was decided on after consumer research. "Through
our research, consumers endorsed this name," Mr Bruce said. "They
told us the name connects them to how they feel when enjoying the cheese in
their everyday life. "We trust that our valued consumers, as well as those
that are new to our products, will embrace the new name and what we stand
for."”(ABC)
The main point : The known cheese
brand Coon Cheese will change its name into Cheer Cheese after an ant-racist campaign
against the word “coon” which is a word of racist slur for black people.
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| image from ABC website |
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