An Honest Vegan Response to “I Could Never Be Vegan, I Like Cheese Too Much”.

“I like cheese too much”. We’ve all heard it a million times. The millionth time I heard it I thought to myself, how is this real life right now? How is this still an excuse with the incredible vegan cheese options on the market?…

The statement makes ZERO sense to a vegan. I bet you already think you know why, but please hear me out.

We didn’t go vegan because we hate cheese. Just like we didn’t go vegan because we hate cheeseburgers and pizza and macaroni and cheese. (We LOVE these things, which is why we create cruelty-free and healthier replacements. People often ask “If you’re opposed to animal products why do you still label plant-based products as ‘cheese’ ‘milk’ and ‘burgers’, etc. and make them taste like the real deal?” This is why. We still love these things, in their cruelty-free form.) If you could still have all the things you love (cheese), only without exploiting animals and wreaking havoc on your body, why wouldn’t you?

We didn’t go vegan because we don’t like the product. We went vegan because we don’t like the process required to make that product. When you tell a vegan you like cheese too much to make the switch, it sounds redundant for a number of reasons.

1. You’re not in love with cheese, you’re literally addicted to it. Cheese is made of casein, a concentrated addictive component of milk that hooks a calf to the milk so it keeps coming back for more and helps the calf grow at a rapid rate. The casomorphins released when you digest casein act as a mild opiate. You’re getting fragments of dopamine from your cheese habit. Yep, you’re addicted to another mammal’s breast milk as if you were still a baby. Pretty gross, right? Cheese is scientifically proven to be extremely addictive. You can do a quick google search and find hundreds of credible articles proving cheese is addictive, the problem is nobody cares unless you know how it’s actually made (hint: there’s no such thing as a laughing cow) and how it harms your body.
2. You haven’t yet realized how ridiculous drinking breast milk sounds to someone who has educated themselves on the truth of the topic.
3. You can’t give up eating meat because you like cheese?….. This seems like a really, really miserable excuse to contribute to animal exploitation.
4. Many dairy cows (and goats and whatever else you drink from the teat of) have mastitis which, if you’ve breast fed as a human, you may be familiar with. It’s a painful infection resulting in pus-filled milk production, which is impossible to separate from the milk. It just gets pasteurized (cooked) and carries on.  So guess what? Instead of separating it, it’s camouflaged and used in your cheese. This is legal. You’re ok with this right now because you are quite literally addicted. But once you disconnect from your cheese habit, you realize and fully understand how disgusting this is. The way I see it- if I wouldn’t purposefully eat an animal’s feces, cancer cells, or menstrual cycles, why would I eat their pussy infection?
5. VEGAN CHEESE IS SERIOUSLY GOOD. If you don’t think so, you clearly haven’t had the right kind. I’ll admit some brands royally screw it up and these products fly off the shelves, I have no idea what people are thinking with that one. But I can tell you there is truly flavorful, creamy, melt-y vegan cheese on the market and it’s not hard to find. It comes in the form of cheese sticks, slices, shreds, fancy wedges, blocks, and sauces. It also comes in pepperjack, mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, american, and others very true to their flavor.

If you’re already vegan please help us out by posting your favorite cheese brands/flavors below!

My #1 has got to be either Field Roast Chao Creamy Original, or a recipe I have for homemade cashew cheese.

As always if you need help or have questions about veganism shoot me an email beamingveganblog@gmail.com or DM me on Insta. I’m more than happy to help, judgement and financially free. If you’re comfortable enough to drop your questions below I’m sure it would greatly help someone else with the same question as you!