Comments on: Ditching Dairy, Ceasing Cheese

By: Miss Wars

Miss Wars — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:57:51 +0000

Thank you all for the encouragement! I am slowly moving toward being a full on vegan. I have kicked milk, eggs and butter and cutting down on my cheese intake one day at a time! I still have an occasional can of tuna as well but the progress I have made is awesome so I try not to feel too guilty knowing that soon I will be able to not eat either one. Thanks again for the support and wonderful words!

By: Terry Rabbitt

Terry Rabbitt — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:29:37 +0000

I became a vegetarian first…I just ate more cheese. I would replace the flesh with more cheese which is very unhealthy. I would justify eating dairy and eggs by believing that it did no harm to the cows and hens, after all they didn’t have to die for my desires.

One day I finally let it sink in that I was directly contributing to the suffering and then the eventual death of these farm animals. I would go on-line to see and read about what happens to dairy cows and laying hens, how cruel the suffering is. I immediately gave up dairy and eggs because I no longer had the stomache for it, knowing how it is produced.

I want people to know that I live a vegan lifestyle and why I made that choice. Vegetarians eating dairy and eggs just need to aware that the dairy farms are slavery, they promote cruelty and ultimately death…most often a horrible death.

By: Joselle

Joselle — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:43:36 +0000

When I was a fish-eater and then vegetarian, I started eating rennetless cheese. But I’d still eat whatever kind of cheese was available at restuarants. Then I read “Reproductive Autonomy” by Helen Matthews in Satya (http://www.satyamag.com/jan05/matthews.html), which is about the bodily exploitation of females, human and otherwise. I KNEW about how dairy cows were treated before reading this article but this punched me in the gut with that information and I knew that I could not call myself a feminist and still support the raping and torture of female cows.

I don’t know if I gave dairy up that very day–I was pretty close to it anyway–but that article sticks out in my head as a turning point.

One day I was eating an egg and all the information I had done on veganism just coalesced for me in one moment. I became nauseated by the egg. The taste, where it came from. And i just stopped eating it. I never ate eggs or dairy again and that was the day I went vegan. It was very immediate but it took time to get there.

I don’t eat much nondairy cheese. It doesn’t taste good. Sometimes I’ll have Tofutti cheese melted on bread when I crave grilled cheese. I bought Teese and wasn’t all that impressed, although it was nice to have the ooey cheese pizza I made with it. Otherwise, I don’t spend much time missing cheese. I used to eat cheese everyday, several times a day. I was someone who thought, “Cheese is life.” Now I realize it’s really not a big deal at all. I totally don’t miss it.

By: Vegan Mommy

Vegan Mommy — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:58:18 +0000

When I became vegan, I thought this would be such a hard problem, getting cheese out of my diet. But, a week or two later, I stopped having cravings for it and now its been 2 1/2 years since I’ve had it. Looking at it now makes me get a sick feeling in my stomach. Somehow I wish we could promote how easliy the addiction to cheese can diminish. Its the easiest habit to break!

By: Convenient Vegan

Convenient Vegan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:25:06 +0000

Cheese was a problem for me, too. I ate less and less of it (my theory being that if we eat fewer animal products we still serve the cause of farm animals) but if a large chunk was in my fridge I’d down it in an evening (eating issues). The China Study really kicked it for me. It’s embarrassing, really, that it took an appeal to my health to make it permanent.

Like you, Laci, I struggle with resistant friends. I tend not to push but when asked I answer. I find most of them alarmingly ignorant not only of what they are doing to their bodies but to my sensitivities.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:02:42 +0000

My friend jokes that she knew that eventually I would become vegetarian, but she did not think I would become vegan b/c of my love of cheese. I came across a Vegan Outreach pamphlet and went from omnivore to vegan overnight. I would recommend just giving it up cold turkey, no vegan substitute tastes the same, the animals must matter more than the taste. Eventually, after not having cheese for a while, vegan cheese is a good treat, but it’s more like a fatty topping for pizza, not really ‘cheese’. I do hope a good substitute becomes available, not for my tastes, but so more people can stick to veganism.

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:35:21 +0000

I have a major love for cheese and eggs myself. For me it was just the realization that even “nonconsumptive uses” like eggs and milk are made possible through slavery.

When I ask people to watch videos of sadistic humans mistreating hens (or whatever), I tell them that it’s not important whether this sort of treatment is the norm. The important part is understanding why it bothers you to see even one hen treated in that way. Once one has that empathy, it’s not hard to see how even relatively humane operations are problematic.

Unfortunately, one thing we can’t yet do is offer vegan cheese as a full replacement – there just isn’t the variety and depth of tastes available on the vegan side. Having said that, vegans can still easily enjoy all of the cheese-based stuff that non-vegans enjoy. I’ve had yummy mac & cheese, fondue, casseroles, etc. and, to paraphrase Kafka, now I can eat them in peace.

By: Laci

Laci — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:26:55 +0000

My fav. “cheese” so far if FYH but I’m not addicted to it. Someone in my family has finally gotten interested in vegetarianism- she was doing great cutting back on the animal products for a while, now she still says “STOP worrying about what I eat, we are different, I like Chicken and Fish!.” and clearly dairy/eggs. I am trying really hard to help her understand the economical, enviromental and cruelty benifits of cutting away animal proudcts, but she’s extremely resitent. I’d like to say “she just isn’t right for it.” But it’s so hard,thinking of where that general Tso chicken had came from when she gnaws on it, corn-syrup-y salt sauce dripping from her mouth. any advoce would be highly appriciated!

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