Like many of us, Cheese for the Culture columnist Agela Abdullah will be heading to Portland, Oregon, for the ACS Conference next month. “While I’m excited about the conference I have to admit that I’m nervous about being in Portland. Oregon has a long history of racial prejudices that start with the founding of the state, and continue today with rural hate groups becoming nationally visible in populated areas,” she writes in a web-exclusive column that includes recommendations of BIPOC businesses to support while in town. 

• The nonprofit independent news organization, The Conversation, looks at the nutritional deficiencies of vegan cheese, explaining that the starches and vegetable oils in many of these cheeses make them less healthy than dairy cheeses. Unless they are made from nuts, vegan cheeses have little to no protein, and are lack the nutrients found in dairy cheeses. Read more here. 
• It’s official! Brie has been crowned the best cheese for a cheeseburger. Marissa Mullen of That Cheese Plate did the arduous task of taste-testing eight types of cheese to determine which one is the best for making cheeseburgers. She graded them based on their ability to melt and overall flavor. Read more from Food52 here.
• Deer Creek Cheese had a banner year at the 2022 Wisconsin State Fair, racking up blue ribbons for its classic Colby, The Robin, and The Indigo Bunting, a sheep’s milk blue with cow’s milk cream. Deer Creek also swept the cheddar category, taking first, second, and third for its bandaged cheddars The Imperial Buck, The King, and The Stag. Read more here.
• There’s a new vegan alternative honey that chefs from around the country are clamoring to get their hands on. MeliBio is made from fructose syrup and plant compounds. And while there may be a consensus that it tastes like the real deal, not everyone is convinced this bee-free honey will save the bees. Read more from Bon Appetit here.
• Saputo UK, maker of Cathedral City cheddar, has been fined £1.5m for wastewater violations going back to 2016 that killed hundreds of fish and fouled the air around its Davidstow Creamery.
• Land O’Lakes, in partnership with Bel Brands, is expanding its dairy farming sustainability program to five more member farms. 
• Good Morning America dished on innovations at the Summer Fancy Food Show, including Rind’s carrot-based cheese and Folios cheese wraps. 
• Ruth Klahsen, owner of Ontario’s Monforte Dairy, says she is downsizing and selling her farm in order to return to cheesemaking herself. 
• The USDA and the Innovation Center for US Dairy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support dairy farmers in adopting economically viable sustainability technologies and practices.

Josie Krogh

Josie Krogh is culture's Digital Strategy Lead. She earned her master's degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from The University of Georgia. Josie developed a love of food while working at farmstands in the D.C. area as a young adult, and discovered her love of cheese while living and working on a dairy farm on Martha's Vineyard. She is passionate about the food supply chain, fresh stone fruit, and dogs. Josie currently lives in Catskill, NY.