HI i been vegitarain for about a few months now... but i eat alot of cheese....and ive been reading threads of this forum and alot of people on here say that was one of their mistakes when they first started going veggie. why is a msitake? im slowly trying to go vegan...but i LOVE cheese....is there any kind of "vegan " cheese...soy cheese i guess??? Thanks for any info on cheese
http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249938 the reason is imbalance: so many new veggies replace meat with cheese, and STILL have the cheese from before. That's a LOT of fat and cholesterol. there is also the issue for ethical veggies of eating animal rennet cheeses. the link at the top of the post is the veggie-suitable cheese list. Dairy has a slew of ethical considerations and health impacts. I'd suggest you read John Robbins' book "Diet for a New America" (with a pinch of salt for the age of some of his info). It's about US $12, and commonly available at libraries, at least through interlibrary loan (ILL). Robbins posits that because of the high protein content, milk actually is a negative calcium gain since to digest protein alkalizes blood and calcium is drawn from the body to buffer it. Interesting theory and worth a read.
I personally love soy cheese. Just be careful about any hidden ingredients. Veggie Slices, for instance, have milk derivatives. Some brands will be better than others. In fact, some will be down-right disgusting. Don't be put off if the first few brands you try aren't tasty. Just keep experimenting and soon enough you'll find a very yummy alternative. My favorite is Vegan Gourmet. As another alternative, you can use tofu. If you use soft tofu and scramble it in either a frying pan or bake it in the oven, it will take on the texture of cheese and taste pretty similar. I like using it as a topping for lasagna or pizza. You can also use tofu as an egg alternative. Scrambled tofu with herbs and veggies is delicious.
I find soy cheese disgusting and extremely processed and often GM, maybe I just had a bad one though..and I really think a real organic cheese would probably be a lot more nutritive than any soy cheese. But really neither are ideal - watch this interview with Robert Cohen on dairy and you won't want to eat much cheese anymore - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0awf4sinso
Oh cheese is so hard to resist. I'm doing pretty good though myself. It just has a lot of saturated fat so its not the best thing to eat. I didn't mind soy cheese but I think its more expensive. Hey by the way anyone know of any vegan cheese thats not soy?? I had vegan nachos the other day with my friend. It had salsa, guacamole, olives, hummus, and cucumbers. Hummus instead of cheese. They were really yummy! Just keep it in moderation and its all good =)
I was a vegetarian for 8 years and depended on cheese for a lot of my protein. Big mistake. I'm now lactose intolerant...so now I can't eat cheese or any other dairy products even if I wanted to. Made it damn easy to become vegan that way, though.
Fuck cheese. I personally think it is just as immoral to eat cheese or drink milk or eat eggs as it is to eat chicken. In fact, it may be even worse. Even Peter Singer suggests that the egg industry is right up there with veal. There is just no way you can be a moralist vegetarian (animal lover) and eat that shit without being completely ignorant to what goes on. The animals are literally tortured for the extent of their lives and then killed at the end of it. It's just pretty damn illogical to be a vegetarian and still contribute to that terrible industry.
You need to get out more. For being a vegan, you've got a rather course attitude. I'm surrounded by small mom and pop dairy operations that treat their very animals well. While I'm familar with factory farms, there are many exceptions. It is wrong of you to label them all as inhumane. x
My parents only buy organic milk, organic eggs, and organic cheese. I think milk and eggs are weird personally so I don't really eat that or cheese much. But once someone I knew said "You can't be pro-choice and be against eating eggs." hah I just thought it was funny
I cant quit the cheese, but i have cut down. Vegan cheese is expensive and doesnt have the same flavor that i love. its too bad, i have cut out milk and eggs, but cant do cheese =(
I'm currently quitting cheese.. it's quite hard, gave in a few times and got a cheese and tomato pizza, but otherwise else i'm trying not to eat it atall, i eat "vegan" food 80% of the time anyhow
Yes! Thank you...you said everything I've wanted to say to every person that freaks out when I say I'm vegan and they say "Oh I respect your choices but I can't live without cheese!". And for the people who are worried about not having a good fake cheese, try making your own! Buy or borrow the Uncheese Cookbook...fantastic..even my omni family love the cheeses I make. Also, there is an enzyme in cheese that literally makes it physically addictive. The first few days when I gave it up I thought about cheese quite a bit...after the 4th day cheese disgusted me and I had no cravings what so ever. I heard about this on the Vegan Freaks podcast...I'm sure doing a quick search on google would find you some sound medical/scientific studies on the cheese enzyme addiction.
All dairy has opiates in it.. it is a naturally occurring product, designed by nature/evolution to addict calves to their mother's milk, so they don't stray too far. The processing that modern dairy goes through (pasteurization, etc.) amplifies the effect, and the process of making cheese GREATLY amplifies it - making cheese the most addictive of dairy products.
