Cheese

So today I thought I would continue with bringing you interesting things I have found on the net. It seems to work well with the blog that I mix snippets from my daily life with things that I think you might like to read about. Today's theme is cheese. Cheese....hum, there was a time when if I had to choose one food I could not live without then this would be it. I was a huge fan of cheese, when I lived in the UK my favourite choices were mature cheddar, red leicester, bavarian, brie, camenbert, feta, mozzerella and don't mention philadelphia... I must have eaten cheese daily as a vegetarian (or as I thought I was), cheese sandwiches, cheese on toast, cheese on pizza, lasagne, sprinked on spaghetti bolognese, cheese and crackers, cheese flavoured crisps, cheese and onion, cheese slices, greek salad...and on moving to Norway of course Jarlsberg was added to the list of most purchased items.....well I think you get the point.

So, you might ask, what on earth is wrong with cheese? It's only cheese after all! So for all of you who want to know why I turned my back on all this deliciousness, see the below article. I will add that after I realized what was in a lot of cheese I started to research how milk was obtained, more on that later, and it just became the right thing to do for me personally.

I guess it is fair to say I had a cheese addiction. It is also fair too say that without cheese I feel a different person - a person living in a body with a lot less fat for starters (I used to have cellulite - not any more - could cheese be the main culprit? All I know is those little bumps of fat I had under the skin - thank you and goodbye!). Can not eating cheese really make such a difference to the way you feel? I am convinced of it. Why not give it a try? Eliminate cheese for a week and see how you feel, chances are you'll feel goooood!

I guess if you cannot let go of cheese at least research which cheeses contain dead animal parts and avoid them, at least then you are limiting the suffering. You can see my earlier blog entry on dairy cows to see why avoidance is the best option but you make your own choices in life! Here's the article, it is only short but to the point, courtesy of www.veggieglobal.com...


Many cheeses contain animal rennet, which is an enzyme often made from the stomach of calves and lambs. For example, some cheddar and traditional parmesan cheeses contain animal rennet.
However, rennet is also obtained from vegetables, such as cardoons. In the UK more cheddar cheeses are being made using vegetable derived rennet (but check the labelling to make sure). There is absolutely no difference in the taste between cheeses that are made with either animal or vegetable rennet. Animal rennet is a cheap by-product of animal slaughter.
The other thing to watch out with cheeses is if "pepsin" has been used in the making process. Pepsin is an enzyme from the stomach lining of pigs and is also used in preparation of some other foods containing protein. The problem is that "pepsin" may not show up on a cheese ingredients listing, even if the cheese doesn't contain rennet.
ALWAYS look on the label when buying cheese to make sure it's suitable for veggies. Remember, if you eat cheeses that contain dead animals you are NOT vegetarian.