the end of a love affair (with cheese)

Not too long ago, I light heartedly mentioned that I follow a vegetarian diet.  For over 20 years now, I have chosen to follow a diet that excludes meat but includes dairy and eggs.  It was easy.  I was happy.  Then I went to the bookstore and stocked up on some new reading material.  It began with Born To Run, a great book about the incredible super athlete, ultra running Tarahumara Indians.   I found it interesting that this tribe follows a primarily vegetarian diet and was even more intrigued by ultra-runner Scott Jurek who adopted a vegan lifestyle in the late 1990s and proceeded to win the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run seven consecutive times.  But it wasn’t until I read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer that I even contemplated personally adopting a vegan diet.  I simply love(d) cheese.

My initial thought after completing Foer’s book was to seek out local, natural and more organic sources of dairy and eggs.  To that end, there are several options for eggs in particular that eliminate the concerns of consuming factory farmed products.   For example, Nest Fresh provides consumers with certified humane, organic eggs that are readily available in my area.   Dairy proved to be a bit more of a dilemma for me.  I had to acknowledge some of the harsher byproducts of the dairy industry – namely the baby calves.  As a dairy consumer, I am taking the milk (and milk product) that is naturally intended for the calves.  I am quite unsettled by what happens to these calves.  The logical argument is that these animals are created to provide food for humans.  I understand that argument – but it’s an issue that I find difficult to resolve personally.   

I also found out that many of the cheeses that I have so loved over the years are processed with an enzyme called rennet.  sigh.  Rennet is an animal enzyme that comes from the stomach of a baby calf.  Fortunately for lacto-vegetarians, there are many rennet-free cheeses that are available at most grocery stores.  I didn’t even know I needed to check for rennet – hell, I didn’t even know what rennet was!  This may be the end of my love affair with cheese… even though I know it will be hard to make a clean break.    As a vegetarian for health and ethical reasons, I am facing the fact that my egg and dairy habits are contributing to industries that treat animals as cruelly as any meat production facility.   

For myself, I am ready to try a a well intentioned vegan diet.  It’s going to be hard to break up with cheese for good.  For my family, I am fortunate to be able to purchase certified humane eggs and organic, rennet free cheese for my children, – I know that not everyone has these options.

Tagged as: eating animals, vegan, vegetarian