In a story with enough twists and turns and heroes and villains to make it into a Netflix documentary, the Washington Post reported on the scandal at the prestigious Good Food Awards. A plant-based blue cheese was selected as a finalist, shocking high-quality artisanal dairy-based cheese makers who felt it was unsuitable for the competition.
After initially being selected as a finalist, Climax Blue Cheese was reportedly disqualified by the Good Food Foundation because one of its ingredients (kokum butter) was not GRAS certified. But Climax CEO Oliver Zahn accused the foundation of bowing to pressure from the dairy cheese industry and changing the rules after the fact to disqualify its products. The foundation denied this, claiming it was due to complaints from local residents.
Traditional cheese makers are making a fuss about Climax Blue, especially since the vegan cheese was so delicious that it was set to win the overall competition before the Good Food Foundation caved in to pressure.
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Ultimately, the dairy industry's heavy-handed attempts to keep Climax Blue out of the spotlight only amplify its rise, and the more we try to censor or suppress something, the more we inadvertently It proves the old adage that it attracts attention.
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