David Asher dives into all things cheese. From the cultural, agricultural practices, biological evolution of cheese and the transformation of milk into cheese. Asher pulls from his experience as a natural cheesemaker and educator to provide both a history of cheesemaking and inspiration for large and small cheesemakers to make their own natural cheeses. 

With milk prices in the USA dropping due in part to a fall in demand from Chinese middle class customers, large stockpiles of cheese now lie waiting.

Meat and dairy consumption have increased globally over the past fifty years. As livestock account for 80% of agriculture’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this article argues that to achieve climate targets, humans need to change their dietary habits.

This paper finds that consumption of high-fat yoghurt and cheese are linked to reduced risks of developing type 2 diabetes – reducing these risks by as much as a fifth. High meat consumption, on the other hand, is linked to a higher risk, regardless of the fat content of the meat. These results are in line with previous studies of eating habits that indicated a link between high consumption of dairy products and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

This study entitled: “Dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies” takes another look at the evidence on the association between intake of dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes.  

This is an interesting paper because it considers one of the potential nutritional downsides of reducing meat consumption – the risk that iron intakes might be undesirably low. The study finds that a replacement of meat and dairy intakes with plant based substitutes has benefits in terms of reduced land requirements and delivers saturated fat reductions.