diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 966967cc7..d69d6017b 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -158,10 +158,13 @@ fi
 AM_CONDITIONAL(BUILD_PRINTERS, [test x"$enable_cups" = x"yes"])
 
 # Optional dependency for the user accounts panel
-PKG_CHECK_MODULES(CHEESE, gstreamer-0.10 cheese-gtk >= 2.29.90, have_cheese=yes, have_cheese=no)
+AC_ARG_WITH([cheese],
+            AS_HELP_STRING([--with-cheese], [enable cheese webcam support]),,
+            with_cheese=yes)
 
-if test x$have_cheese = xyes ; then
-        AC_DEFINE(HAVE_CHEESE, 1, [Define to 1 to enable cheese webcam support])
+if test x"$with_cheese" != x"no" ; then
+   PKG_CHECK_MODULES(CHEESE, gstreamer-0.10 cheese-gtk >= 2.29.90)
+   AC_DEFINE(HAVE_CHEESE, 1, [Define to 1 to enable cheese webcam support])
 fi
 
 # This is a hard-dependency for the region and user-accounts panels