What are the vegan cheese alternatives I can conceivably substitute in a dinner party of discerning charcuterie board lovers?
In any case, cheese is difficult to replicate due to the nature of the proteins in milk. There are companies that have made casein in bioreactors that will hopefully soon put products on the market.
Until then, there are other alternatives, but don't expect them to have the same flavor and texture. Some of the best ones are not trying to be a facsimile. There's the Vegan Cheese Co that maintains a worldwide database of vegan cheeses, and here's the list from their yearly awards:
However, my experience is not all farms are so aggressive even in the USA (look for bull bred) and in France I've seen plenty of cheese making operations very in touch with traditional methods and not what I'd personally call cruel at all (sheep cheese made in the Pyrenees in particular)
Also the regulations in France prevent a constant pregnancy. https://agriculture.gouv.fr/le-bien-etre-et-la-protection-de...
I think things could be improved of course and I'm all for improving the lot of animals.
My favorite locally produced moldy nut cheese (Omage) does not have a flavor or texture like any dairy cheese I've tasted. IMO, dairy cheeses taste more different from each other than vegan versions taste from the dairy cheese they are mimicking (usually by using the exact same cultures).
With all the modern biotech we have, and the speed at which you can breed microorganisms, I don't think we should shrink from the challenge of domesticating new microbes from wild sources, and we should celebrate any new interesting flavors that come from it. Tradition (i.e. DO dairy cheese) is peer pressure from dead people.