I’m one of those gobby vegans who will happily tell anyone why they should stop consuming animal products. But I can still admit what’s obviously true: most vegan cheese isn’t particularly good.

Britain is facing an Islamist insurgency

Will Downing Street name the ideology behind anti-Semitism?

No, Russia is not on the verge of a coup

I was once ardently devoted to cheese. In my vegetarian years, paneer, mozzarella and halloumi were less foods than companions. I loved how paneer would soak up the spice of a curry like a sponge. Mozzarella was like a spectacle of tensile, elastic theatre and halloumi provided evocative, salty squeaks. I also took delight in the standard toasted cheddar sandwich. Yes, I did get quite fat.

But when I learned about what goes on at dairy farms, everything changed. Brutal artificial inseminations, heartless separations of mothers and babies, male calves shot or tossed into bins, exhausted mother cows dragged to the abattoir the moment they’re considered unprofitable – no wonder people say dairy is scary.

Cows are my favourite animals, so learning the truth about dairy farms was game over for me. I tried some vegan cheeses but quickly concluded........

© The Spectator