It’s easier to give up meat than cheese – that’s a common refrain I hear from people when discussing food. Whether you want to give it up or not is a personal decision, but we do need to think about it, because the environmental impact of cheese can in some cases be higher than meat. A vegetarian diet may not be a big improvement – see some comparisons here.
I’m going to try and write a bit more about food this year, but for today I just wanted to share this video from DW.com that highlights some of the main concerns. It also outlines where the impact of some vegan alternatives lies – oats being the most promising low-carbon source for dairy alternatives.
For more videos along these lines, see Deutsche Welle’s Youtube channel Planet A, which posts a new video every friday.
The Earthbound Report 
Many thanks for the Planet A tip: these look like great videos!
I’d also be interested to know of others’ impressions with making their own cheese (not necessarily fermented!). That seems to be a good way of reducing packaging and other footprint aspects. There seem to be a lot of recipes around, and I’ve managed some quite nice flavours, but have found it challenging to process nuts to a smooth enough consistency to give a more convincing and appealing cheese alternative..