Miyoko’s Creamery Launches ‘Cheese of Champs’, Partners With Vegan Olympians

Plant-based dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery has unveiled Cheese of Champs, a new program to showcase how a simple lifestyle switch can have an impact on the planet. It has partnered with five vegan celebrities to spread this message.

Athletes for change

The California-based dairy-free company has partnered with former Team US Olympic members David Verburg, American track and field gold medalist; Rachael Adams, American indoor volleyball bronze medalist; Heather Mitts, American soccer three-time gold medalist; Dustin Watten, American volleyball bronze medalist; and Dotsie Bausch, American cyclist and silver medalist.

Bausch was also a part of the 2018 Netflix documentary The Game Changers backed by Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It explored the journey of plant-based athletes and how their performance benefitted on a vegan diet.

“At Miyoko’s, we understand that the world, in its current state, is in need of activists championing change for the betterment of our planet, our food system and our general health,” founder and CEO of Miyoko’s Creamery, Miyoko Schinner, said in a statement.

By choosing plants and cutting out animals and animal products, we’ve given our bodies the best source of nourishment and sustained energy to help us push for our own individual passion in life

Dustin Watten, American volleyball bronze medalist

Read: Plant-Based Boxer Claressa Shields Wins Big, Highlights The Benefits Of Animal-Free Diets

Collective activism

Watten said: “By choosing plants and cutting out animals and animal products, we’ve given our bodies the best source of nourishment and sustained energy to help us push for our own individual passion in life.”

As part of the campaign, these athletes will share knowledge and tips to their fans on how they can adopt simple lifestyle shifts and in doing so, call them to collectively act for the good of the planet.

Dubbed as the ‘Queen of Vegan Cheese’, Schinner added: “In partnering with these five vegan athletes for the Cheese of Champs program, we will defy the status-quo by collaborating across their platforms to challenge and motivate their fans and followers to think beyond themselves and change the world through impactful lifestyle changes, like maintaining an animal dairy-free lifestyle with the goal of showing compassion for all living things.”

At Miyoko’s, we understand that the world, in its current state, is in need of activists championing change for the betterment of our planet, our food system and our general health

Miyoko Schinner, founder and CEO, Miyoko’s Creamery

The company uses traditional cheesemaking processes, fermentation and enzymatic transformation. It also creates its own plant-based milk and incorporates them into more than products like vegan butter, artisan cheese wheels, vegan cream cheese, and most recently, plant milk cheddar cheese sticks.

These products can be found across 20,000 retailers including Whole Foods, Target, and Walmart.

The company won a legal case against the State of California, giving it permission to use terms like “butter”, “cruelty-free” and “lactose-free” on its alternative dairy products.

Olympians for plant-based

Silver medalist Bausch is also part of an initiative called Eat Like An Olympian, by Switch4Good, an organization she founded. It promotes the benefits of plant-based diets and calling out the ills of the dairy industry.

Now live at the Tokyo Olympics, this program aims to encourage participants to switch to a ‘new healthy habit’. All participants will receive discounts from Eat Like An Olympian’s partners including Miyoko’s Creamery, NadaMoo!, Loca Food, and Forager Project. Winners will receive gold, silver, and bronze prizes given by plant-based brands.

Other dairy-free athletes that are competing in this year’s Tokyo Olympics include Perris Benegas, Sue Bird, Amelia Brodka, Vivian Kong, Alex Morgan, Mikey Papa, Ali Riley, Kaylin Whitney, and Victoria Stambaugh.

Read: Soccer Stars To Launch Vegan Cooking Show To Promote Plant-Based Foods For Athletes

Lead image courtesy of Miyoko’s Creamery.