In 1989 Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) fancifully said: As I am fond of saying, if the Congress had a vote on whether to build a cheese factory on the Moon, I would oppose it based on what I know now, and I cannot imagine the circumstance under which I would support it....
In 2012 the prospects for establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon appeared front and center in the Presidential race. Newt Gingrich promised "By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon, and it will be American,"
A cheese factory would produce an important nutritional supplement for inhabitants, and would provide much needed jobs for the suppliers of raw materials here on earth.