What are goat cheese benefits? Side effects? Is goat cheese vegan? Gluten free? Acidic or alkaline? Low fodmap? Good for you? Healthy? Sustainable? Here is all the info on goat cheese that every ethical consumer wants to know…
Food is something we consume every day and if you’re like me, you do all the research you can to make sure you don’t hurt yourself, the planet, animals or others when shopping. As an ethical consumer myself, I am giving you all the info I’ve found on goat cheese side effects and benefits.
You are going to learn all about goat cheese side effects and benefits. This will include goat cheese benefits for your health and potential risks, goat cheese water footprint and goat cheese carbon footprint, goat cheese sustainability, if goat cheese is vegan or impact animals in other ways, and much more.
After learning if goat cheese is good or bad for you, the environment, animals and human rights, you will be able to make the best choices you can the next time you buy food.
This post is all about goat cheese side effects and benefits that every ethical consumer should know.
Goat Cheese Side Effects and Benefits
Health
Goat cheese benefits may include:
- better digestion
- feelings of fullness
- reduced appetite
- reduced inflammation
- boost immunity
- anti-bacterial
- healthy bones
- weight loss
Goat cheese side effects may include:
- antibiotic resistance
- hormone imbalance
Additionally, goat cheese is…
- Acidic 4.5 pH level once digested
- High Fodmap
- Gluten Free
- Common Food Allergen: MILK
Environment
Water footprint: moderate, it takes 5,060 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of cheese / 606 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of cheese
Carbon footprint: high, 13.5 CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of cheese, a car driving equivalent of 31 miles or 50 kilometers
Destruction: high, land usage for pasture, grain and forage, solid waste (excrement/manure) runoff into soil and freshwater, deforestation for feed crops, animal agriculture leading cause of: species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution and habitat destruction, responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction, goat hooves can cause land degradation
Goat cheese is…
Animals
Kills: in most cases and unless stated otherwise cheese production involves rennet (rennet = the lining of the fourth stomach of young goats, calves and lambs) meaning cheese typically cannot even be considered “vegetarian”
Harms: kids, goats, female goats are forcibly impregnated, mother goats’ milk is stolen for human consumption, kids (baby goats), who need the milk do not receive it and babies are taken away from their mothers
Indirectly kills or harms: young male goats, who are deemed “useless” to the goat milk industry are slaughtered for veal, ecosystems and wildlife, habitat contamination (water and soil pollution), wildlife habitat destruction (deforestation/land clearing), wolves and coyotes killed to prevent predation on livestock
Goat cheese is…
- Not Vegan
- Harmful to wildlife and ecosystems
- Super Easy Vegan Cheese Cookbook: 70 Delicious Plant-Based Cheeses
- This Cheese is Nuts!: Delicious Vegan Cheese at Home
- Vegan Cheese: Simple, Delicious Plant-Based Recipes
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We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
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We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Laborers
Health and safety: varies, overall, agriculture continues to be one of the most dangerous industries, farmworkers may be subject to dehydration, heat stroke, unprotected exposure to harmful, toxic chemicals and pesticides, unsafe machinery and clean drinking water may not always accessible
Living conditions: varies, laborers are often exploited, they may face tough working conditions including long hours in the sun and heat performing physically exhausting tasks, labor laws and rights may or may not be in place, even if worker protection exists, employer violations may go unreported, refugees and migrant workers are especially vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment, fearing consequences of job loss or deportation
Wages: varies, generally farmworkers earn meager wages, there are many cases of underpaid agricultural workers, wage theft and no overtime payment or benefits
Goat cheese has…
Where does most goat cheese come from? 📍
France is the world’s leading producer of pure goat cheeses (made of goat’s milk only).
The world’s top goat cheese exporting country is Germany, followed by Netherlands, France, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, Switzerland, USA and Greece.
Is goat cheese nutritious? 🥗
Goat cheese is high in protein, vitamins and minerals but is high in fat, cholesterol and often contains antibiotics and growth hormones.
What are some goat cheese substitutes and goat cheese alternatives? 🍴🧀
Use this Dairy Foods + Substitutes List to quickly see alternatives.
Or check out Switch4Good’s Dairy Free Meal Plan for recipes, ideas and tips on ditching milk and dairy for good!
Is goat cheese alkaline or acidic?
Goat cheese is acidic.
What is the pH level of goat cheese?
Goat cheese has a 4.5 pH level once digested.
When you eat food, it breaks down to an ash residue that can be neutral, acidic or alkaline. Minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, silver, copper and iron produce an alkaline ash; whereas sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine and iodine, which are in meat, coffee, dairy and alcohol, leave an acid ash.
Going alkaline easier than ever with this: Acidic and Alkaline Foods List
Is goat cheese low fodmap?
No, goat cheese is high fodmap, a food you should limit or eliminate if on a low fodmap diet. Goat cheese is high fodmap because it is not aged and therefore contains more lactose.
A low FODMAP diet may help those with bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
It’s all about knowing your body. Observe what works and what doesn’t. You body might even react negatively to a low-FODMAP food simply due to intolerance. Everyone is different! Be mindful and patient. Take time to get to know what’s best for your physical health and overall wellbeing.
Is goat cheese gluten free?
Yes, goat cheese is gluten free. Goat cheese does not contain gluten.
While celiac disease may not be as rampant as many marketing trends lead us to believe, you may have a gluten sensitivity…
Celiac and gluten sensitivity symptoms are similar and may include:
- recurring abdominal pain
- chronic diarrhea
- constipation
- tingling
- numbness in hands and feet
- chronic fatigue
- joint pain
- unexplained infertility
- low bone density (osteopenia or osteoporosis)
There are hundreds of potential symptoms, many of which are also symptoms of other conditions.
Going gluten-free easier than ever with this: Gluten and Gluten Free Foods List
Is goat cheese a common food allergen?
Yes, goat cheese contains a common food allergen: milk. Many people experience allergic reactions to goat cheese.
A group of the eight major allergenic foods, AKA the Big-8, include:
These foods account for about 90% of all food allergies in the United States.
Severe food allergies can be life threatening. Following ingestion of a food allergen, a person with food allergies can experience a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
Persons may still be allergic to and have serious reactions to foods other than the eight foods identified by the law.
Be aware of common dietary restrictions and food allergens with this: The Big 8 Most Common Food Allergens List
Water footprint of goat cheese?
Goat cheese has a moderate water footprint…it takes 5,060 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of cheese / 606 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of cheese.
Did you know that water is a finite, non-renewable resource?
We must do what we can to conserve fresh water and a major way to reduce needless water consumption is to change the way we eat. That’s not to say we need to reduce our water intake….quite the opposite. It’s important for our health to drink lots of water and eat foods that hydrate. The kind of water conservation we’re talking about here is behind the scenes.
How much water does it take to produce an apple? A serving of rice? A steak dinner?
We need to be aware of “water footprints”. That is, the amount of fresh water utilized in the production or supply of goods we consume. As it turns out it takes significantly more water to yield foods that come from animals than foods that come from plants. Imagine how much water a cow needs to consume to generate a piece of beef. Not only how much water a single cow drinks, rather all the water that went into producing the crops that the cow ate.
Find out how much water your food consumes with this: Water Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
Carbon footprint of goat cheese?
Goat cheese has a high carbon footprint. It takes 13.5 CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of cheese, a car driving equivalent of 31 miles or 50 kilometers.
Food not only has a water footprint but also a carbon footprint, known as CO2e, which stands for carbon dioxide equivalent. Since carbon measurements are a bit more difficult to comprehend, it is common to equate CO2e to the distance which a car drives in miles or kilometers.
When calculating carbon emissions, some factors may include…
- farm equipment
- animal feed production
- hothouses (greenhouses)
- food processing
- packaging
- transport
- refrigeration
- freezing
- package waste and more
But that’s not all!
It’s best to keep the following in mind when grocery shopping:
- shopping locally reduces transportation emissions
- food without packaging reduces waste as well as the carbon footprint
- refrigerated and frozen foods increase carbon emissions
- seasonal foods reduce carbon emissions from hothouses (greenhouses)
- growing plant-based foods at home is the most environmentally sustainable method with zero carbon footprint
Find out how much carbon your food emits with this: Carbon Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
Is goat cheese unsustainable?
Goat cheese production is relatively unsustainable.
A 2018 Oxford University study – which is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet – found that ‘avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’ as animal farming provides just 18% of calories but takes up 83% of our farmland.
Consuming animal products and byproducts is not environmentally friendly and is one of the worst things for the Earth. Not only is meat production wasteful, it causes enormous amounts of pollution. The industry is one of the biggest causes of climate change.
Read more about ‘What Makes Food Sustainable Or Unsustainable?’
Is goat cheese vegan?
No, goat cheese is not vegan. Goat cheese is dairy, the byproduct of a goat, therefore making it an animal-derived food. A mother goat’s milk must be used in order to produce goat cheese.
Animals of factory farms and the livestock industry are suffering. They live in horrific conditions that often include confinement, physical abuse and unnatural environments…so much so that they need to receive antibiotics to keep from getting ill or spreading disease. They’re also injected with growth hormones to become fatter faster and live short lives, being slaughtered as soon as they finish growing and are killed prematurely, well before their natural lifespan.
Because we cannot see for ourselves how these animals live and what they endure does not mean it isn’t happening. The meat, poultry and dairy industries do everything they can to distance us from knowing how our food comes to be in order to keep us in the dark about what we support each time we buy animal derived products and byproducts.
Go vegan for animals!
It’s the best way to help animals and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Speak for animals with your actions, for they cannot speak at all.
Going vegan is easier than ever, at a glance with this: Vegan and Non-Vegan Foods List
Does goat cheese have human rights issues?
Did you know the single largest employer in the world is agriculture? The labor involved behind each and every product cannot go unrecognized.
Some known problems include workplace health and safety, child labor, gender inequality, inadequate pay, wage theft and exploitation. Workers can even experience harassment, humiliation and violence and unfair employers often fail to provide laborers with access to shade, drinking water, restrooms and breaks. Consequently, laborers can face nausea, dizziness, heat exhaustion, dehydration and heat stroke -the leading cause of farmworker death!
Such mistreatment is like modern day slavery. Workers are often afraid to report issues because they fear it will result in losing their jobs or deportation.
Fair trade organizations fight to ensure better social, environmental and economic standards.
We can improve people’s lives with foods we eat every day simply by buying products that are certified fair trade.
Be sure to read up on this list of ‘Foods You Should Always Buy Fair Trade‘
This post was all about goat cheese side effects and benefits.
Sources:
Goats Milk Cheese Research Associated to – USDA ARS
Scientific American: How does dairy effect your hormone levels?
Goats Milk Cheese Research Associated to – USDA ARS
fresh goat cheese – FoodData Central
