Vegan cheese substitutes: enjoyment without remorse?

From cream cheese to mozzarella and hard cheese - there is now a plant-based alternative for almost every type of cheese. The reasons for choosing vegan cheese alternatives are as varied as the selection. Some are concerned about animal welfare, others want to do something for the environment, some are keen to experiment and some simply cannot tolerate milk. But how do manufacturers manage to avoid milk and still create such creamy alternatives?

What's inside?

If you take a look at the list of ingredients of common products, nuts such as cashews or almonds and soya or coconut fat dominate as basic ingredients. Starch, stabilisers or fermentation cultures are used for the consistency. Last but not least, yeast and noble mould cultures provide the typical cheese flavour.

The health aspects

It is obvious that vegan cheese alternatives are suitable for people with a cow's milk allergy. However, depending on the ingredients, the plant-based alternatives can also score points in terms of the fat they contain, more specifically in terms of their fatty acid profile. This is because traditional cheese generally contains higher amounts of saturated fatty acids. And it is precisely these that are associated with various health risks in science. For example, 100 grams of classic mozzarella contains 18 grams of fat, of which around 11 grams are saturated fatty acids.

Basically, vegan cheese alternatives lose out on many nutrients.

A plant-based alternative made from cashew nuts, on the other hand, contains only 1.8 grams of saturated fatty acids with a total fat content of 24 grams. However, if the mozzarella alternative is made from coconut fat, the fatty acid profile is worse than with conventional cheese, with 22 grams of saturated fatty acids per 24 grams of fat. In general, vegan cheese alternatives lose out on many nutrients. While traditional cheese is considered a source of protein, its plant-based counterparts often only contain a fraction of the protein. The same applies to the nutrients vitamin B12 and calcium, which are essential for growth, but which are increasingly being fortified.

The life cycle assessment of plant-based cheese alternatives

A popular argument in favour of vegan cheese alternatives is their supposedly better environmental footprint. According to the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg, the average climate impact of one kilogramme of cheese is 7.7 kilogrammes of CO₂ equivalents. For the same amount of vegan alternatives, it is only 2 kilogrammes of CO₂ equivalents.

The cultivation of cashew nuts requires large quantities of water.

However, nitrogen emissions are only one piece of the sustainability puzzle. The cultivation of cashew nuts requires large quantities of water. This is a decisive factor when you consider that cashews are often grown in dry regions such as India and Vietnam. Added to this is the use of copper-containing pesticides, which pollute the soil. Water consumption, long transport routes and critical working conditions are also an issue with other basic ingredients such as coconut oil or almonds. So while vegan cheese alternatives appear more environmentally friendly at first glance, they perform worse than their animal counterparts in other respects.

Vegan nutrition for children

Whether toddlers or teenagers, our offspring are dependent on a diet that meets their needs at all stages of development. Theoretically, a vegan diet in combination with supplements can fulfil these needs. However, the Swiss Society for Nutrition (SGE) believes that the risk of an inadequate supply of nutrients is so high that it advises against a strict vegan diet in childhood and adolescence. However, vegan cheese alternatives offer an exciting addition to the diet for vegetarians, flexitarians and anyone who wants to consciously reduce their milk consumption.