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Welcome back to another episode of Chasing Even Natural Health
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God's Way. I'm your host, Carolyn Thompson. Today we're tackling
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one of the most beloved and sometimes confusing foods in
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the world, cheese. You've probably heard the rumors on social
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media ninety percent of cheese in America comes from a
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lab That sounds shocking, right, But here's the thing. The
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truth is far more complicated. Some cheese does come from cows, goats,
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and sheep, like it always has, but there is also
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a growing category of cheeses quote unquote made with lab
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grown proteins, and many consumers don't realize it. Today we're
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going to cut through the confusion. We're going to talk
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about the history of cheese and how it all began
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with animal milk and natural cultures, how traditional cheese is
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still made today, and the explosion of synthetic lab derived
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kurds and proteins that mimic cheese but don't actually come
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from animals, as well as how to tell the difference
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when you're shopping, and the healthiest cheeses to eat for
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your body. We'll also hear insights from natural health experts
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and biohackers like doctor Berg, Dave Aspury, Gary Brecca, Doctor
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Josh Axe, and more so, grab your favorite wedge of cheese,
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whether it be lab made or real, or maybe hold
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off until you hear the full story and let's dive in. Cheeses.
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Go back thousands of years. As you know, shepherds discovered
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that milk stored in animal stomachs curdled naturally thanks to
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the enzymes in the lining. This was the birth of
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something we know as rennet, the original curd maker. From there,
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entire cultures flourished around cheese Italy with Parmisano, reggiano and mozzarella,
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France with bri commemberate and Rockfort Grease with fada, and
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Spain with manchego. In every case, cheese was and still
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is made from animal milk cows, goats, sheep, buffalo and
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the process well, it starts with fresh milk. Add cultures
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like bacteria that help ferment sugars into lactic acid. Add rennet,
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which are enzymes that separate the curds, which are the solids,
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from the whey which is the liquid. They shape it, salted,
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age it and this creates unique textures in flaur This
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is real cheese and it still exists. Real cheese carries
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real nutrients like protein which is high quality protein and
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a complete amino acid calcium, which we know as are
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bone supporting mineral vitamin K two, especially in aged grass
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fed cheeses, supporting heart and bone health. Also probiotics which
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are live cultures in raw and aged cheeses, healthy fats
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CLA and omega threes in the grass fed milk, but
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experts often recommend going back to basics. Doctor Burgh often
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talks about choosing grass fed full fat cheeses for their
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nutrient density, and Dave Asprey, who we know as a
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social media famous for bios hacking, has highlighted goat cheese
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as easier to digest and higher in beneficial fats. Gary Breca,
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who is a human biologist, frequently warrants about overly processed dairy,
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pushing consumers toward whole, raw or minimally processed cheeses. And
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then there's doctor Barbara O'Neill, who emphasizes avoiding synthetic additives,
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recommending natural, mineral rich dairy. Barbara is a vegan as
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far as I know, but she does discuss if you're
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going to eat certain animal products she gives you some
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ideas and pointers on how to go about that. So, yes,
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real cheese can be a whole nourishing food if you
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pick wisely. So now, how did we get to the
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point where cheese is suddenly starting to be created in
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a laborory. Well, here's where things get complicated. Most large
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scale cheese in America doesn't use traditional animal rennet anymore. Instead,
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it uses microbial rent. This is made by fermenting fungi
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or bacteria in a lab while still working with animal milk.
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It replaces the calf stomach enzyme. Some people are fine
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with that, but uh, some people aren't. But then there's
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the new frontier, synthetic kurts. Companies like Perfect Day and
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New Culture are pioneering precision fermentation, genetically engineering microbes like
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yeaster fungi to produce caseine and wave proteins in giant vats.
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These proteins are then combined with water, fats, and flavorings
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to mimic dairy cheese. And here's the critical point. These
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products do not come from animal milk at all. They
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are not derived from cows, goats, or sheep. They are
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simply lab grown proteins stitch together to resemble real dairy.
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To the untrained eye or to a rushed shopper, they
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look like cheese, they melt like cheese, and they may
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even taste like cheese. But they're not real cheese. As
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doctor Ash has noted, Doctor Axe has noted, just because
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a label says cheese doesn't mean it comes from an
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animal anymore. We need to be vigilant and read ingredients carefully.
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So here's how to spot synthetic cheese. How can you
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tell the difference between true animal cheese and lab based imitations. Well,
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check the label. A traditional cheese will have milk from
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either a cow, goat, sheep, or buffalo salt cultures enzymes,
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which is animal rent specifically, and lab based or synthetic
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cheese may list fermentation derived proteins or microbial caseine. Now,
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microbrial caseine is not derived from animals. It is produced
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using genetically engineered microbes that replicate the properties of traditional
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caseine found in milk. This process allows for dairy like
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proteins without the use of animal ingredients, making it a
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sustainable and cruelty free alternative. The lab based or synthetic
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cheese may also something called microbrial rennet mentioned earlier. Microbial
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rennet is not directly derived from animals. It is produced
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using certain molds, yeast, or fungi that can ferment and
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create the enzyme chymosin, which is also found in animal rent. However,
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the genetic material for the enzyme may originally come from animals,
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but no animals are used in the production of each
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batch of microbial rennet. The synthetic cheese may also have
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something called listed in the ingredients, something called animal free
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dairy proteins, as well as something called modified milk ingredients.
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It may contain oils, starches, and gums. Also watch for
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the catch phrases like cheese food or cheese product on
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the label. US law allows these terms for products that
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only partially meet the legal definition of cheese. This leaves
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plenty of room for synthetic proteins and fillers. So this
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is the loophole. Marketing can make these sound wholesome, but
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many are not animal derived. Now you might be asking yourself,
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why does it matter or why should I even care? Well,
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there's several reasons why. One is nutrition. Synthetic proteins may
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mimic caseine, but they lack the full complexity of milk.
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With its enzymes, fats, and its micro nutrients. Also, there
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is the issue of digestibility. A lot of people who
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can tolerate traditional cheese may struggle with heavily processed lab cheeses.
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So it could be for some people who think that
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they may have a cheese allergy that they actually have
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an allergy to the synthetic, lab grown version of cheese
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and they don't even realize that they could eat real cheese.
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So that may be something you might want to revisit.
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If you think that you became allergic to cheese at
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some point, maybe it wasn't actually cheese that you were eating. Also,
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it's important for companies to be transparent with us as consumers.
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We deserve to know if our cheese is coming from
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a cow or a fermentation tank. There's also the case
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of tradition versus technology. Cheese has always been a marriage
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of land, animal and natural microbes, so replacing that with
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lab proteins is it's a fundamentally different food, and we
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deserve to know what we're eating. Jordan Reuben put it bluntly.
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He said this quote, food without its natural source is
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not food. It's an imitation, and our bodies know the
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difference unquote. So you might be asking yourself, what's the
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healthiest cheese If you're going to eat cheese. Here's some
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really great options like goat cheese, which is easier to
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digest and its high in medium chain fatty acids. Sheep
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cheese also known as manchego. It's nutrient dense, high in
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protein and minerals. Also there's the aged raw milk cheeses,
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which are rich in probiotics and K two and lower
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in lactose. Parmesan or pecorino romano have concentrated nutrients. They're
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lower in carbs and high in flavor, so you actually
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eat less. We also have the grass fed cow cheeses
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if you tolerate cow's milk. Grass fed versions have healthier
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fat ratios and more cla. Also, keep this in mind,
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you might look into eating a two cheese, so maybe
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go a step farther instead of grass fed cow cheese,
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look for grass fed a two cow cheese, which is
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another way of saying that the milk that the cheese
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is made from is going to come from a cow
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that hasn't that doesn't have the mutation of the a
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one milk cow, and that's a whole other story. But
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there's actually some studies that show or demonstrate that people
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who are allergic to the A one cow milk actually
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can tolerate the A too cow milk. And that's a
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whole other there's a bunch of information about that. And
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if you want to look at my other podcast on
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how did raw milk become the villain? I actually discussed
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the A one and the A two different milks if
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you want to check that out. You want to avoid
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processed cheese, sliced or slices, or cheese, food or products
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things that save food or products on them. Cheese is
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with fermentation derived proteins that never came from an animal.
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You definitely want to avoid that if you're worried about
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eating something that's not natural or something that might upset
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your stomach. As Dave Aspury often says, quote, if your
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food label reads like a chemistry experiment, it's not real
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food unquote. So you'll notice when we were listening the
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ingredients in the animal derived cheese, it was pretty short
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and pretty to the point. So I want to say this,
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I'm not saying all lab created dairy proteins are toxic.
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We really don't know the jury is still out, but
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the marketing is misleading, and most people assume their cheese
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comes from a cow, goat, or sheepe, and understandably, if
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it doesn't, then consumers they have the right to know.
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We all have a right to know where our food
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is coming from and how it's made. Here's the thing.
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If ninety percent of US cheese is industrial and processed,
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much of it still starts with milk. But the trend
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toward synthetic, animal free kurds is growing fast, and that's
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why awareness matters now. So there you have it, the
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world of cheese split right down the middle, the real
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animal born cheeses of tradition and the lab born imitations
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that want to pass as the same thing. The choice
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is yours. Maybe you'll stick with your favorite farmhouse cheddar,
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maybe you'll experiment with goat fada, or maybe you'll decide
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to avoid synthetic cheeses altogether. What matters most is that
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you're informed. Thanks for joining me on Chasing Eden, Natural Health,
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God's Way. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe on
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your favorite podcast platforms so you never miss out in
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a bite of truth. And for more articles, resources and links,
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check out Chasingeden dot net. Until next time, I'm Carolyn
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Thompson reminding you that food was meant to nourish, not
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to trick. Stay wise, stay well, and keep chasing Eden.