Vegan cheese has never been so good! Jana Lepojevic explains why dairy cheese isn’t all its cracked up to be.

Cheese boards, chocolate, ice cream, cake; it sure seems like the best things in life involve dairy. But are we baby cows? And do we really need dairy to have fun? “Maybe not” I hear you say, “but we do need calcium and milk to grow big and strong” to which I ask again, are we baby cows? Do we really need the substance that helps calves grow 600 kilograms into an adult cow? I’m certainly not a baby cow (though I’d be a lot cuter if I was) and I’d hazard a guess that, no, we don’t.

Allow me to drop some brief nutritional knowledge on you for a moment. You may or may not be aware that milk contains a sugar called ‘lactose’. In order to digest lactose, the human body needs to create an enzyme called ‘lactase’, which can break down lactose. For those who are lactose intolerant, the body is not producing enough lactase to break down lactose effectively which causes intestinal upset and other issues. Around 65% of the human population have a reduced ability to digest lactose. When we are born, we produce lots of lactase in order to break down the lactose found in breast milk. After the age of about two or three (about the age when babies wean off breast milk) our production of lactase begins to reduce dramatically. This goes for all people, even those who do not go on to develop lactose intolerance. Our levels of lactase and our ability to produce it dramatically declines after infancy. Now I am not a scientist but it’s almost as if milk wasn’t supposed to stay part of our diet forever.

Beyond the observation that we are in fact not baby cows and maybe aren’t naturally built to consume cow milk there are environmental implications to consider. While there are different farming methods, and some are better than others. Livestock farming, including dairy farming, is generally bad for the environment in more ways than one. Dairy farming uses a lot of water. Consider the water used to clean milking equipment, hydrate the cows and water their feed (and cows eat a lot). There are about 1.6 million dairy cows in Australia and some dairy farms can use up to 38,000 litres of water per cow per year. You do the math. On top of this, the process of creating products from the dairy milk, such as cheese, is also water intensive. Livestock farming contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, land clearing and water pollution from waste and run-off. It’s clear that the sheer magnitude of cows and land required to meet the dairy demands of a large population calls into question whether ‘sustainable’ livestock farming is even an option.

So maybe dairy is bad for the environment, and maybe dairy is meant for baby cows. But it’s full of calcium so surely it’s healthy at least? Dairy may be high in calcium but that doesn’t mean it’s the healthiest source of calcium. Dairy is full of saturated fat which is exactly the type of fat we should be limiting in our diet. There are many other sources of calcium which don’t have the sugar or fat content of dairy and which may be a more efficient source of calcium per calorie. In fact, Osteoporosis Australia lists firm tofu as having the highest amount of calcium per serve. Other foods that are high in calcium include kale, sesame seeds, chia seeds and broccoli, and fortified plant-based milks and butters.

Lastly, dairy is just cruel. There’s no way around it. Cows are forcefully impregnated on a regular basis in order to keep producing milk. Their babies are taken away from them, often within 24 hours, so that we can have that milk. Male calves born at dairy farms are considered to be waste products by the dairy industry and are treated as such. Once no longer producing enough milk to be ‘profitible’, cows are sent on trucks to slaughter, often many, many miles away. Usually at about age 4, when their natural life span is 20 years. This happens on most dairy farms whether they are free range, organic or factory farms. I could go on... Remember: “she makes milk because she is a mother, not because she is a cow”.

Finally – most of us grew up with dairy and have grown familiar with the taste, which many of us enjoy. Luckily, now, more than ever, it’s so easy to find delicious dairy free versions of most things. You can have some fun with it, do some research, shop around and find what works for you. Below I’ve compiled a little resource of dairy free products to help get you started.

Milk

There’s a huge range of non-dairy milks in the market. Each one has different qualities so find one that appeals to your taste and consider the environmental/health impact. There’s soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, rice milk, nut milk, pea milk and probably more that I haven’t even heard of!

My pick – soy milk. I love bonsoy.

Cheese

As with milk, there’s a huge range of non-dairy cheeses. So many that it can be overwhelming to know which to choose! Below are some of my picks:

Sheese (Bute Island), in particular their mozzarella, I put it on all my pizzas! They also have cheesy vegan recipes on their website.

Bio Cheese, in particular their fetta, I put it in my Greek salads

Mozzarisella have a vegan blue cheese dip that I have recently discovered. It’s healthy too!

And of course our SVM, NVM and Marketplace favourites Dilectio and Hello Friend, sold by Green Wise Agency!

Cheesy recipes

This recipe for nachos produces the best nachos I’ve ever had with a super cheesy vegan queso to boot!

My favourite recipe for vegan mac and cheese is a crowd favourite for my vegan and non-vegan friends alike!

Chocolate

Vegan chocolate is easy to find nowadays and has always existed in the form of dark chocolate. My all-time favourite for vegan chocolate has to be Pico coconut chocolate, it’s so creamy!

Yoghurt

The probiotics found in some yoghurts are great for gut health, so I always try and include some vegan yoghurts in my diet. My favourites are coconut based. Coco Tribe, Cocobella and Nakula are all great choices.

Ice cream

As with chocolate, vegan ice cream is commonplace nowadays and super delicious. You’re pretty much guaranteed deliciousness with any vegan ice cream and there are heaps to choose from so I will make it simple and just pick one.

Pana ice cream is my well known go to. They also do delicious vegan chocolate.

The Sydney Vegan Market is another great resource for dairy alternatives and you can find them all in the same place!