Cheddar AFC, the 131-year-old football club of the town of Cheddar, in Somerset, England, known as being the birthplace of cheddar cheese, has now partnered with vegan cheese brand Violife in a new sponsorship deal. For the occasion, Violife has released a new product, “Cheddarton,” which is said to be a realistic plant-based alternative to cheddar.
Ex-England player Karen Carney, who is vegan, said, “I turned vegan in 2018 and noticed the positive change immediately both in my health and performance on the football pitch when playing for both club and country. The perception of the plant-based diet is that you will miss out on certain foods but thankfully Violife means I never miss out on my cheesy favourites like pizza and cheese on toast.“
Kieran Webster, captain of Cheddar AFC, said to Plant Based News, “We know what’s key to making the cheesiest, gooiest dishes around, so if we can go plant-based, switching Cheddar for Cheddarton, anyone can!… Living and growing up in Cheddar, cheese is in the players’ blood.”
Cheddar cheese is the most popular cheese in Britain, with 58% of Britons citing it as their favourite. Around 330,000 tonnes are eaten each year, which represents thousands of cows suffering so their milk can be stolen to produce it. Violife’s research discovered that 23% of people have ended their plant-based diet due to the “irresistibility” of cheese. This is probably due to casein, the protein that makes cheese addictive. Cheese makers an industry which, like the tobacco industry, does not hesitate to make people addicted to its products even if they are unhealthy.
