❓Is the rennet in cheese extracted from animals? How do I choose vegetarian-friendly cheese?

Traditional cheesemaking does commonly use rennet to help milk coagulate, and that's an animal-derived enzyme extracted from a calf's stomach — a lot of strict lacto-ovo vegetarians aren't actually aware of this. The good news is that most commercially sold cheese now uses non-animal rennet produced through microbial fermentation or genetic engineering instead — especially industrially produced cheese brands, many of which have fully switched to these alternatives since they're cheaper and more consistent. When buying, you can just check the packaging label — some European cheeses (especially traditional handmade ones, and some Italian hard cheeses like Parmesan) are more likely to still use traditional animal rennet. If this matters to you, look for products clearly labeled 'vegetarian cheese' or 'plant-based rennet' — a lot of supermarkets now set aside a specific section for these, and they're getting easier to find.