Today is not a good day for vegetarians who enjoy eating cheese.

It has been discovered that Parmesan cheese, which is highly popular and recognizable, is produced using animal rennet.

If you don’t know what “that” refers to, get ready because we’re going to explain it to you.

How Parmesan cheese is made is a little-known fact.

The enzyme used to make Parmesan cheese comes from the fourth stomach lining of animals like calves, goats, and lambs, and is called animal rennet.

Typically, the animal is killed during the procedure.

After being extracted, the rennet is dehydrated until it solidifies.

When it is time to make the cheese, the rennet is rehydrated in water.

Milk is churned after adding the liquid to make cheese.

Rennet is the ingredient that separates the solid particles from the water in milk, resulting in the formation of curds.

“I never want cheese again in my life”

The disclosure has caused a discussion on the internet, with certain people expressing surprise that they have been ingesting a substance that comes from the stomachs of animals.

A tweet that gained traction on the matter stated: “Today years old when I found out Parmesan cheese is made from baby cow’s stomach and I could go cry. I’m just gonna have to go full vegan at this point.”

“Horrifying! Why are we eating baby anything as a species,” one person said.

Another person added: “I just can’t … I’m done.”

A third person said: “Wow I had never heard that! Dairy is scary for real.”

“That’s really gross. I never want cheese again in my life,” a fourth added.

There are other options available.

What should someone who loves cheese do?

If you’re uncomfortable with using animal rennet, but still want to eat cheese, there are other natural and ethically sustainable options available.

Thanks to advances in technology, it is now possible to create a rennet for cheese without using animal sources. Certain brands of cheese use rennet made from plants.

Cheesemakers sometimes utilize microbial rennet that is derived from bacteria and fungi.

If you prefer, you can look for cheese alternatives made entirely from plants, like vegan cheeses.

Unfortunately, Parmesan cheese is made using animal rennet as it is a requirement to follow a specific recipe in order to use the name for cheeses from a particular region.

The Vegetarian Society states that Parmesan cheese must always use animal rennet.