Philosophical Vegan Forum

Hello to all. I recently gave up eating animal meat...I still eat man meat, if you know what I mean Anyway, I cannot for the life of me give up eating cheese. I don't drink milk, or consume any other dairy other than cheese. Will I be frowned upon in the Vegan Community? I really tried to give it up, but I enjoy it too much. Let me know your thoughts.

DominantBottom wrote:Hello to all. I recently gave up eating animal meat...I still eat man meat, if you know what I mean

Congratulations! If you need any advice feel free to ask.

Anyway, I cannot for the life of me give up eating cheese. I don't drink milk, or consume any other dairy other than cheese.

Awesome!

Will I be frowned upon in the Vegan Community?

Unfortunately, that is probably the case.

I really tried to give it up, but I enjoy it too much. Let me know your thoughts.

Veganism attempts to minimize harm wherever practical and possible. If you can't give up cheese then so be it. Your other contributions don't simply shatter just because you didn't go all the way. It's not black and white, it is a spectrum.

If you'd like to try to give up cheese I'd gradually decrease your cheese input over time. For example, maybe this month you only eat cheese at dinner. Next month, only during six dinners a week, five dinners, and so on. If you like them, vegan cheeses may be able to sate your need for cheese. They don't seem to be much healthier than regular cheese, so I'd only eat them occasionally or in smaller quantities if you decide to replace dairy with these vegan cheeses.

DominantBottom wrote:Hello to all. I recently gave up eating animal meat...

Hello Dominant Bottom, welcome to the forum! I hope you like it here. We'd be happy to offer advice about going vegan, and perhaps we can learn from you as well from your insights in discussions.

DominantBottom wrote:I still eat man meat, if you know what I mean.

I seriously have no idea what that means. If it's a figure of speech then I confess I've not heard it before. Is it perhaps some sort of sexual innuendo?

DominantBottom wrote:Anyway, I cannot for the life of me give up eating cheese.

Yeah I hear you. That was my toughest one too. I gradually reduced my intake while looking for alternatives:

Do you like tahini sauce? I think it has a rather strong, but addictive flavor, somewhat like cheese. I like to make falafels and eat them in pita bread with cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced onion, and tahini sauce. I'm getting hungry just thinking about this!

If you're curious about vegan cheeses* then I'd recommend daiya cheese. It tastes like cheese but has a rather odd texture (slimy and sticky), which is okay once you get used to it. I find that its texture contrasts wonderfully with toasted bread (inside of a grilled vegan-cheese sandwich with sliced tomatoes and a pinch of chili powder).
I recommend that you steer clear of Follow Your Heart (a.k.a. Vegan Gourmet) "cheese". It's terrible. There's also tofutti (their cream-cheese is excellent but I haven't tried any of their other products). I've never had any Chao's products but they're most likely better than Follow Your Heart.
Do you like metal (specifically black metal) music? If so, and you're curious about different vegan-cheese brands, then I'd recommend watching this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMubfsGHvTk

*While I've never tasted any myself, I've heard good things about nut "cheeses". If I remember correctly, brimstoneSalad either has experience making them or at least knows how. So if you're curious I'd recommend asking her about those. She's also quite knowledgeable about nutrition if you have any concerns.

DominantBottom wrote:I don't drink milk, or consume any dairy other than cheese.

Do you have access to a Trader Joe's where you live? It's a common grocery store chain here in California and maybe a few other states (assuming you're in U.S.). If you like ice cream then I suggest going to a TJ's and purchasing some Soy-Creamy ice cream. It's the best ice cream ever! If not, other supermarkets might have vegan ice creams; like So Delicious, Tofutti, Almond Dream, and Rice Dream.

DominantBottom wrote:Will I be frowned upon in the Vegan Community?

I don't know. I've only ever met a few vegans up close (at least whom I knew were vegan), and most whom I currently interact with are the ones on this forum. I can only confidently speak for myself on this. I'll say that I certainly wouldn't frown upon you, because it seems like you genuinely want to cut the dairy out of your diet, and you aren't about to give up. I know how difficult it feels to kick such a long-lasting habit, so it doesn't bother me that people struggle with this. What does bother me is when people make excuses for why they shouldn't have to give a shit about the reasons not to eat dairy.

So yeah I almost forgot to ask what are your reasons for going vegan? For the animals, the environment, or your health? Or perhaps other reasons?

Armoured Abolitionist wrote:Is it perhaps some sort of sexual innuendo?

Yes, it is.

Congrats on going veg, it's a great step in the right direction, and will be much healthier already.

In regard to cheese, it can be difficult -- cheese has a salty and fatty taste which can be quite addictive.

When I gave up cheese, I didn't just give it up, but replaced it by adding more salt and olive oil to things.

ArmouredAbolitionist wrote: *While I've never tasted any myself, I've heard good things about nut "cheeses". If I remember correctly, brimstoneSalad either has experience making them or at least knows how. So if you're curious I'd recommend asking her about those. She's also quite knowledgeable about nutrition if you have any concerns.

If you have a blender or food processor, you can make some pretty healthy cheese replacements with nuts, and sometimes nutritional yeast. It's more tricky to get them into a solid form (rather than a sauce) though.

DominantBottom, How much cooking experience do you have?

DominantBottom wrote:Will I be frowned upon in the Vegan Community?

It depends on your attitude.

Consider a smoker who is all about smoking, encourages others to smoke, and never wants to give it up compared to a reluctant smoker who is trying to quit, and is open to advice and new things to try to help him or her quit. Both are smoking, but represent drastically different attitudes.

ArmouredAbolitionist wrote:I'll say that I certainly wouldn't frown upon you, because it seems like you genuinely want to cut the dairy out of your diet, and you aren't about to give up. I know how difficult it feels to kick such a long-lasting habit, so it doesn't bother me that people struggle with this. What does bother me is when people make excuses for why they shouldn't have to give a shit about the reasons not to eat dairy.

Well said.

DominantBottom wrote:Hello to all. I recently gave up eating animal meat...I still eat man meat, if you know what I mean Anyway, I cannot for the life of me give up eating cheese. I don't drink milk, or consume any other dairy other than cheese. Will I be frowned upon in the Vegan Community? I really tried to give it up, but I enjoy it too much. Let me know your thoughts.

Cheese IS hard to give up, not because it is addicting or anything, but simply because there are so FEW great-tasting vegan alternatives. I am a lacto-vegetarian, and I have tried many times to find good vegan alternatives to cheese. Not only does none of the stores in my neighborhood carry vegan cheese substitute, but the few more veggie cheese I have tried (Vegan cream cheese, cheese-like products, Go-Veggie,) just don't taste really good at all, or at least don't taste like cheese.

Mind you, I do like hummus/refried beans with crackers, salsa and chips, and can eat a veggie sandwich without cheese, I would just like a replacement for it because I find that cheese typically brings the food tastes together. I can live without meat, there are wonderful chicken replacements by Morningstar, I hate eggs, but dairy is just the one thing I have issue with. I can replace milk with soymilk, almond milk, and cashew milk, but I just can't find a easy-to-obtain vegan cheese replacement.

The best thing to do would probably be to just try to eliminate it altogether.