My blog post, Going Vegan, continues to attract a lot of traffic. One recent visitor commented he could not see himself going vegan because he couldn’t give up cheese.

I didn’t give up cheese when I went vegan.

What’s your pleasure? Pizza? Daiya melts just like mozzarella and has similar texture and mouth feel. Tastes good too. Don’t want to make your own? Daiya has a frozen pizza ready to pop in the oven.

Want lasagne? PETA has a recipe for Tofu-Spinach Lasagne that’s pretty good. Or you can make your own with Tofutti’s new Better than Ricotta.

But what about snack foods? Well, during a recent trip to Whole Foods Market I found this treasure trove of treats.

The Cheddar Squares don’t taste cheesy to me, but more like a tastier version of Ritz Crackers. Not bad but not something I’ll buy again. The Cheddar Puffs are quite good. No, they don’t really taste like cheese either, but neither do non-vegan puffs. These puffs even leave that powdery residue on your fingers to lick off! Mmmmm…..

So not being able to eat foods you love may be your excuse for not going vegan, but it’s just that- an excuse.

If you’re looking for another good reason to go vegan besides the health benefits for you, the animals, and the planet, chew on this:

From a recent ASPCA email: The USDA is currently accepting comments on a draft food labeling policy. The proposal still allows producers to call their products “humane” without providing their animals with treatment that’s any better than conventional factory farming. It’s time for that to change.

That’s right. You may soon be paying more for animal products labelled humane that isn’t. In fact, you may be now, because the USDA has no definition of what is “humane.”

You can click here to go to an ASPCA page where you can let the USDA know you are opposed to this rule.

And after you do your part for the animals, consider going vegan. Trust me, it can be done with little discomfort.