Sept. 22, 2025

Is Your Cheese Fake? What Labels Don’t Tell You

Is Your Cheese Fake? What Labels Don’t Tell You

Cheese — one of the world’s most beloved foods. But did you know that not all cheese actually comes from animals anymore? In this episode of Chasing Eden: Natural Health God’s Way, host Caroline Thompson uncovers the surprising truth about cheese in America.We’ll journey from the ancient traditions of goat, sheep, and cow cheeses to the modern rise of lab-made synthetic curds that look like cheese but contain no animal proteins at all. Learn how cheese is really made, how to read confusing labels, and why it matters for your health and your family.Along the way, we’ll hear insights and warnings from leading voices in natural health — Dr. Berg, Dave Asprey, Gary Brecka, Dr. Josh Axe, Jordan Rubin, and Dr. Barbara O’Neill — as they highlight the difference between real food and clever imitations.By the end of this episode, you’ll know how to choose the healthiest, most nourishing cheeses, and how to avoid being misled by lab-engineered products.👉 Subscribe now and visit ChasingEden.net for more natural health wisdom.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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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.