To my palate, butter tends to be a little bit sweeter and less oily than margarine. It tastes lighter and richer. It's not as obvious as, say, olive oil vs. c

To my palate, butter tends to be a little bit sweeter and less oily than margarine. It tastes lighter and richer. It's not as obvious as, say, olive oil vs. canola oil, but it is distinguishable. I can imagine giving up butter in favor of margarine... but then I also doubt the half pound I go through per year has a major impact in the big picture. As for cheese... I do eat tofu sometimes in place of meats, but don't see it as a good substitute for cheese, except for perhaps a very narrow selection of cheese varieties (perhaps paneer). I've yet to find a soy substitute for a cheddar or brie. What I have had is soy ricotta, which is about 80% of the way to matching the real thing in terms of texture and about 50% there in terms of flavor. I have no doubt it will be done eventually, but we're still a _very_ long way from replacing a cheese lover's dairy consumption with alternatives.