How do I know which cheeses are vegetarian-friendly?

Question

I am a vegetarian (not a vegan, though) who recently discovered that often, cheese is made with rennet, which is harvested from the stomachs of dead calves, and as a rule, I won't eat anything that requires a corpse in the production process.

I don't really live in a town that big, so we don't exactly have many, if any, places that cater to the needs of vegetarians. They only just recently even started supplying Boca and Morning Star products at the grocery store.

So, my question is, are there any major cheese companies that for sure don't use rennet? All the cheeses and products that contain cheese I can find at my store list "enzymes" as an ingredient, but I don't know whether or not that specifically means rennet, or just enzymes in general, which sometimes is rennet.

So, in short, are there any safe brands? Kraft? Sargento? Or do I have to cut cheese out altogether until they start selling in my area cheese made *specifically* for vegetarians?

Answer 1

i had no idea about that.... i will have to start reading all my cheese packages.  i'm not a vegetarian, but i have many friends that are- that is interesting

Answer 2

you go to the organic section, they have vegetarian friendly cheese there.

=]

Answer 3

i would just play it safe and if its not a vegetable, make sure that it mentions "vegetarian" somewhere on the label.

Answer 4

Tillamook cheeses are either all made with vegetable rennet, or at least they specify which ones are right on the side of the package.  Where I live, they are available in every regular grocery store.

Other than that, if you don't have a health food store or co-op where they are likely to know about the ingredients of each product, you can contact the manufacturers directly.

Answer 5

Many companies actually mention on their websites, so just look by company.

I have heard Kraft cheese is vegetarian friendly since using rennet is actually costlier than not using it. However, with Kraft products, it's an issue of whether you want to support the company, since it's owned by Phillip Morris/Altria, who are notorious for killing countless animals in hideous animal testing rituals that far exceed anything that I'd say is justifiable, especially to make a product that kills millions yearly on top of it.

Answer 6

purchase it in a organic store. places like trader joes have the biggst selection of healthy and vegetarian dishes. you can also go to the butcher and get fresh cheese.or call the the comments and quastions number on the side of the package.

Answer 7

Go to this site! It has a list of safe brands and cheeses!

http://cheese.joyousliving.com/CheeseLis...

Answer 8

Cheese can be made with or without rennet which is derived from the stomach tissue of a slaughtered calf.

Today more and more cheeses are made with “microbial enzymes” which are widely used in the industry because they are a consistent and inexpensive coagulant.

The term “microbial enzyme” means it is a synthetically developed coagulant. The term “vegetable rennet” means it is derived from a vegetable source.

Soft cheeses such as cream cheese and cottage cheese are manufactured without rennet. Some cottage cheeses however, may contain gelatin which is derived from animal sources.

As someone mentioned in an earlier post, this is a great list of vegetarian cheese brands and types:

http://cheese.joyousliving.com/CheeseLis...

Answer 9

Many cabot brand cheeses and several sargento ones are fine. Cabot says on the label if they are animal rennet free or not but you need to look up what's OK for sargento at their website.  Horizon brand cheese is all ok.

Answer 10

Really? I never knew that but I'm not big on cheese anyways but sorry I wouldn't really know anything.

Answer 11

a little rennet won't hurt you.

Answer 12

None.  The point of being a vegetarian is to eat vegetables ONLY.  If you eat anything else you are not a vegetarian but a hypocrite.