Did you know that most cheese in the United States is made from genetically modified ingredients? Additionally surprising? Many European cheeses imported to America, while from countries where GMOs are limited, are GMO-sourced. I’ve talked before about the dairy industry, how we need to be cautious, aware consumers when purchasing dairy products. What kind of husbandry principles are practiced by the dairy from which you buy your ice cream, butter, milk, yogurt and cheese?
But there’s another looming issue, one even more subtle…
Several months ago I took my first cheese making class. It was excellent. The cheese maker had just published a book and was touring, giving cheese making classes as her way of increasing book sales. She is a commercial cheese maker by profession, making huge volumes of artisan cheeses, all varieties. Her knowledge and experience are vast.
Her personal passion is not sustainability; it is gourmet cheese making. Yet she was happy to educate us about rennet and the varieties from which to choose. It was here that my metaphorical cheese bubble was burst.
I learned there are four kinds of rennet: calf stomach sourced, microbial rennet, vegetable rennet, and FPC (fermentation-produced chymosin). I learned that most cheese consumed in the US is made from the latter, a GM rennet. Most cheese. It is estimated that 80-90% of the cheese Americans consume is produced with genetically modified rennet.
Even cheeses imported from European countries, where GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are limited in agriculture and food production, likely contain GM rennet.
How is this possible? The laws that prohibit GM production within Europe do not hold for exported items. And most European countries (not including France and Austria) now allow the use of FPC for their own citizens, as well.