By now most of you have probably heard about Cargill’s newest development of a non-dairy cheese alternative they are boasting: Lygomme ACH Optimum. Here’s a brief summary of what they have done – and this comes directly from Cargill.

Cargill has launched a unique breakthrough innovation that enables the cost-effective production of a 100 percent non-dairy cheese analogue for pizza and other prepared food applications. Lygomme ACH Optimum functional system (patent pending) replicates the functionality of dairy protein and replaces it fully at an outstanding cost advantage for the manufacturer.

Fabien Bouron, senior dairy applications specialist at Cargill Texturizing Solutions, explains: “Cheese represents approximately 15 percent of a pizza recipe and given its high and fluctuating price, it can have a significant impact on the cost of frozen pizza production.

“In order to protect their margins, manufacturers have traditionally had to choose between raising pizza prices, limiting portion sizes or using a blend of different cheeses depending on their current market value.”

Lygomme ACH Optimum functional system removes this instability by offering manufacturers a cost-effective cheese alternative for pizza, which can be used to completely replace highly volatile dairy proteins. Furthermore, its appearance, taste and texture perfectly match those of processed cheese based on dairy proteins and are similar to those of traditional hard cheeses, such as gouda, cheddar or gruyere, thereby ensuring equal enjoyment and satisfaction for consumers.

When I first read about this I was in a bit of an outrage. I wanted to write about it, but decided I had better wait until I was in the proper frame of mind so I wouldn’t have to apologize later.

I understand Cargill’s bottom line is profitability; it is for any business. But having your feed company spend money on research and development of a product that replaces what you are producing at a loss seems backwards. How can they expect their feed representatives to walk onto any dairy farm today and try to sell their product? Not only does this seem backwards to me, but the reasons given for the product development seem to elude good sense. One of their claims for development is it “offers health advantages as it contains reduced calories (less fat and no saturated fats).”

Apparently they haven’t read the research where three servings of dairy each day is an essential part of a healthy diet and has been proven to help in weight loss. I think most elementary students know this – where did Cargill miss it?

Another reason for this development seems to support a small portion of society who eat only vegetables, vegans, and many of these folks are vegan because they are against animal agriculture. Here is what Cargill said in their release: It offers “a unique opportunity for vegans to enjoy a product that has the characteristics and taste of cheese but without any animal-derived ingredients.”

It seems to me we have enough of a fight on our hands with the anti-animal agriculture movement; why is our feed company providing fodder for their cause?

When all of this hit the press, Cargill scrambled to counter with this statement: “Cargill remains committed to the dairy industry and has a significant stake in its success,” says Joe Stone, president of Cargill Animal Nutrition.

“These efforts range from introducing cholesterol-reducing plant sterols into dairy products to enhance their marketability, to helping specialty cheese makers increase cheese productivity through specialized culture systems, to helping dairy producers enhance their dairy animals’ productivity through a patented nutrition management system.

“As a longstanding and active member in number of dairy councils nationally and internationally, we are committed to the success of the dairy industry and continue to closely collaborate with our dairy partners to help advance their growth and success.”

Mr. Stone, you may say your company is committed to the success of the dairy industry … but let me say to you, your actions speak louder than your words.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.