Cheddar AFC agrees new sponsorship deal – with vegan cheese alternative brand
No whey! A football team in Cheddar is causing a stir after agreeing a sponsorship deal with a vegan rival of its popular namesake cheese. Cheddar AFC, which is based in the Somerset town where the much-loved cheese is matured in the famous caves, will now be sponsored by a Cheddar-style dairy alternative, Cheddarton.
The players, known as The Cheesemen, will be encouraged to embark on a plant-based journey from today.
As they sport the cheesy new kit, they will also take part in a training session with former professional player, and ex-Lioness, Karen Carney – who is also a vegan.
The sponsorship comes after a study of 2,000 adults, who have meat and dairy in their diets, found 69 percent wouldn’t consider going vegan – with 57 percent of those saying they would miss their favourite non-vegan foods too much.
A spokesman for sponsors, Violife, which commissioned the research to launch its dairy-free Cheddarton “cheese”, said: “The idea of switching to a vegan diet can seem like a big leap, and clearly many are worried about how they would feel without some of their favourite foods.
“But going plant-based doesn’t have to mean you no longer get to enjoy them.”
The study also found a meat-laden roast dinner is the food non-vegans would miss the most if they were to switch diets – followed by cheese, eggs, dairy milk, and bacon.
And while 30 percent of all those polled reckon they could happily live without meat, almost two-thirds (61 percent) do not feel they could live without cheese.
As a result, 56 percent think it is “hard” to be vegan, with almost a quarter (23 percent) of all plant-based diets ending due to the irresistibility of cheese.
However, despite the reluctance of some to switch to a plant-based diet, 20 percent of those polled, via OnePoll, admitted it is better for the environment.
And nearly one in five (19 percent) said animal welfare was a convincing reason to go vegan.
Despite this, over two-thirds (69 percent) feel cheese is an…
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