America’s largest bagel chain, Einstein Bros., recently announced they’d be rolling out
vegan cream cheese at select locations. The new bagel, which they’re
calling “Vegan Shmear, is served with vegan cream cheese by plant-based brand
Kite Hill.
But Einstein Bros. isn’t the first major company
to offer vegan cheese. In fact, over the past year or so, dozens of food chains
and grocers have started carrying delicious and humane plant-based alternatives to
cheese. Don’t believe us? Keep reading.
Last month, Trader
Joe’s started carrying Miyoko’s vegan cream cheese (and butter) at all of its locations. This was major for
Miyoko’s Kitchen, which recently
expanded its operations to a larger, state-of-the-art facility.
Additionally, earlier this year pizza chain Domino’s rolled out vegan cheese at its
Australian locations. The company seriously underestimated how many people
would want a plant-based option, because it kept running out. Similiarly, last
year Pizza
Hut added vegan cheese options at its U.K. locations after an incredibly
successful test trial.
What’s more, earlier this month, Violife, a company well-known throughout Europe for
its mouthwatering plant-based cheeses, announced it would sell its products
at 451 Whole Foods Market locations across the U.S.
The vegan cheese market has boomed and we’re so
here for it. In fact, research
firm Nielsen revealed the sales of vegan cheese had increased by 43 percent in
the past year alone.
And it’s not just cheese.
Dean Foods, America’s largest dairy company, recently announced a
plan to shift focus to its plant-based brands, particularly the
vegan flax-based milk and yogurt label Good Karma Foods. Moreover, shortly
after the company issued a notice to dozens of dairy suppliers that it would not renew its contracts after May 31, Dean
made headlines for closing a large Illinois facility. It predicts
more closures as consumers ditch dairy products in favor of plant-based
options.
Also, Danone, famous for its yogurt, invested nearly $60 million in a plant-based beverage
facility in Mount Crawford, Virginia. Danone also dropped its animal-based dairy brand Stonyfield.
More people enjoying vegan alternatives is great
news for cows at dairy farms who are treated as mere milk-producing machines, forcibly
impregnated, and kept in terrible conditions. Shortly after calves are
born, they are torn away from their mothers. Male calves are killed for veal.
Females are forced into the dairy herd, trapped in a cycle of abuse for years
until they are considered “spent and sent to slaughter.
Heartbreaking, right? Watch this undercover
video from a Mercy For Animals investigation.
Fortunately, you can avoid consuming pus and contributing to this cruel
industry by switching to delicious and healthy vegan dairy alternatives.
Click here
to get started. And check out our Pinterest
page for thousands of recipe ideas!