4 ms·

I’ve always found it interesting that vegan “cheese” is still considered cheese. Should it be cheese-food? or imitation cheese?

adeelk93 6y ago
What is “cheese”? Is a Kraft American Single “cheese”? What about Cheese Whiz? Certainly there’s a lot of debate about “cheese” even before getting into vegan
- phonypc 6y ago
  There's no real debate about those products. They're not cheese and can't be labeled as such.
- proc0 6y ago
  When you have to put "with real cheese!" on the label, it's not that real cheese.
xdennis 6y ago
The EU has protections these sort of brand dilutions. You can't call it cheese if it doesn't come from milk and you can't call it milk if it doesn't come from a teat.
- La1n 6y ago
  Which is weird to me, coconut milk has been "milk" for over 300 years. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coconut%20milk https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coconut%20milk
  - kuratkull 6y ago
    Which is why it's basically the only exception. No other non-milks are allowed that. Good
    - La1n 6y ago
      But if consumers understand that coconut milk doesn't come from a cow, surely they can understand soy milk doesn't. Milk is already used for non animal milks as coconut shows, so I don't see this doing anything pro-consumer.
      - kuratkull 6y ago
        A historical exception isn't an acceptable excuse to muddy the otherwise precisely defined definition further. But that's just my opinion. I'd even wager that coconut liquid may lose its privilege in the near future. Good
  - ThrowawayIP 6y ago
    Almond milk predates coconut milk by several hundred years even. I remember reading an account by a European man stranded in North America of almond milk but I couldn't find the source again. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/almond%20milk https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/almond%20milk https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/almond-milk-obsession-origins-middle-ages https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/almond-milk-obsession-...
DogOnTheWeb 6y ago
If plant-based cheese is ever going to gain mainstream acceptance, it will be necessary to fall under the "cheese" category alongside cow, goat, and other animal-based cheeses. The founder of Impossible Foods has a great framing on this about targeting meat-eaters with a substitute, rather than going after the much smaller group of highly incentivized vegetarians/vegans. There are multiple legal fights by animal agriculture lobbying groups to exclude plant-based products from using the meat/cheese/egg terms, specifically (IMO) to try to maintain the status quo and prevent these products from gaining traction. Ultimately there are no natural laws governing language, and given the above acceptance of plant-based products under these terms is a fight worth fighting for anyone hoping to see them gain traction and mainstream acceptance.

adeelk93 6y ago

What is “cheese”? Is a Kraft American Single “cheese”? What about Cheese Whiz? Certainly there’s a lot of debate about “cheese” even before getting into vegan

phonypc 6y ago
There's no real debate about those products. They're not cheese and can't be labeled as such.
proc0 6y ago
When you have to put "with real cheese!" on the label, it's not that real cheese.

xdennis 6y ago

The EU has protections these sort of brand dilutions. You can't call it cheese if it doesn't come from milk and you can't call it milk if it doesn't come from a teat.

La1n 6y ago
Which is weird to me, coconut milk has been "milk" for over 300 years. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coconut%20milk https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coconut%20milk
- kuratkull 6y ago
  Which is why it's basically the only exception. No other non-milks are allowed that. Good
  - La1n 6y ago
    But if consumers understand that coconut milk doesn't come from a cow, surely they can understand soy milk doesn't. Milk is already used for non animal milks as coconut shows, so I don't see this doing anything pro-consumer.
    - kuratkull 6y ago
      A historical exception isn't an acceptable excuse to muddy the otherwise precisely defined definition further. But that's just my opinion. I'd even wager that coconut liquid may lose its privilege in the near future. Good
- ThrowawayIP 6y ago
  Almond milk predates coconut milk by several hundred years even. I remember reading an account by a European man stranded in North America of almond milk but I couldn't find the source again. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/almond%20milk https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/almond%20milk https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/almond-milk-obsession-origins-middle-ages https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/almond-milk-obsession-...

DogOnTheWeb 6y ago

If plant-based cheese is ever going to gain mainstream acceptance, it will be necessary to fall under the "cheese" category alongside cow, goat, and other animal-based cheeses. The founder of Impossible Foods has a great framing on this about targeting meat-eaters with a substitute, rather than going after the much smaller group of highly incentivized vegetarians/vegans. There are multiple legal fights by animal agriculture lobbying groups to exclude plant-based products from using the meat/cheese/egg terms, specifically (IMO) to try to maintain the status quo and prevent these products from gaining traction. Ultimately there are no natural laws governing language, and given the above acceptance of plant-based products under these terms is a fight worth fighting for anyone hoping to see them gain traction and mainstream acceptance.