Those Vegan Cowboys has made their first cow-free cheese. Through precision fermentation, they managed to make different types of casein. Casein is the key ingredient in cheese, the unique protein that gives cheese its structure and which, until now, could only be produced by animals. Using the fermented casein, the team made their first coin-sized cheese.

Those Vegan Cowboys wants to replace the living cow with a steel cow, a fermenter, for dairy production. Initiators are Jaap Korteweg and Niko Koffeman, formerly the owners of De Vegetarische Slager. They expect their cowless cheese to eventually become a gamechanger. Will van der Tweel, project director: ‘It still has to age, but it is real cheese, completely free of animal products. This makes it possible to recreate any kind of cheese from cow’s milk.’