I wasn't looking to promote cheese alternatives, but rather point out the cruelty of the industry.
In any case, cheese is difficult to replicate due to the nature of the proteins in milk. There are companies that have made casein in bioreactors that will hopefully soon put products on the market.
Until then, there are other alternatives, but don't expect them to have the same flavor and texture. Some of the best ones are not trying to be a facsimile. There's the Vegan Cheese Co that maintains a worldwide database of vegan cheeses, and here's the list from their yearly awards:
So I think if you don't want to eat cheese for your own reasons or advocate for that.. kudos.
However, my experience is not all farms are so aggressive even in the USA (look for bull bred) and in France I've seen plenty of cheese making operations very in touch with traditional methods and not what I'd personally call cruel at all (sheep cheese made in the Pyrenees in particular)
I'm sure there is a spectrum of treatment in dairy farms, but it's nearly impossible to investigate every farm you buy dairy products from, ane virtually no one is strict enough to eat only products from farms they are familiar with, unless they are in the industry. I choose to not partake as I know I am not that disciplined and will just eat what's served to me after I've had a couple glasses of wine.
Are your discerning charcuterie board lovers open to new flavors, or are they going to demand 1:1 indistinguishable replicas of specific dairy cheeses?
My favorite locally produced moldy nut cheese (Omage) does not have a flavor or texture like any dairy cheese I've tasted. IMO, dairy cheeses taste more different from each other than vegan versions taste from the dairy cheese they are mimicking (usually by using the exact same cultures).
With all the modern biotech we have, and the speed at which you can breed microorganisms, I don't think we should shrink from the challenge of domesticating new microbes from wild sources, and we should celebrate any new interesting flavors that come from it. Tradition (i.e. DO dairy cheese) is peer pressure from dead people.
In any case, cheese is difficult to replicate due to the nature of the proteins in milk. There are companies that have made casein in bioreactors that will hopefully soon put products on the market.
Until then, there are other alternatives, but don't expect them to have the same flavor and texture. Some of the best ones are not trying to be a facsimile. There's the Vegan Cheese Co that maintains a worldwide database of vegan cheeses, and here's the list from their yearly awards:
https://www.vegancheese.co/awards