Wisconsin Was the Last State to Repeal Its Margarine Ban in 1967

Wisconsin's devotion to butter bordered on obsession. As the Dairy State, Wisconsin fought the longest and hardest against margarine. While 32 states had imposed color restrictions on margarine by 1902, and most had dropped them by the 1950s, Wisconsin stubbornly refused to budge. The state maintained its ban on yellow margarine until 1967, decades after the Supreme Court had overturned pink margarine laws and most of the country had moved on. The battle produced some absurd moments. In 1955, Wisconsin senators held a blind taste test and most could tell butter from margarine, except for Senator Gordon Roselip, who loudly preferred the margarine, insisting it was butter. It turned out his wife had been secretly substituting illegal yellow margarine for butter at his dinner table for years, worried about his heart health. Even today, Wisconsin has strict laws protecting butter and cheese production, a legacy of its dairy devotion.