It’s National Pizza Week—a tribute to late college nights, birthday parties and slices eaten straight from the box while running errands. In the U.S. alone, we eat roughly 4 billion pizzas a year. And each day, we consume the equivalent of 100 acres of pizza, which translates to approximately 350 slices per second.

Pizza is comfort. Pizza is tradition. It’s meant to be easy, shared and safe.

But for those of us who are allergic to dairy or who avoid it for health or ethical reasons, pizza is a problem. It’s also troublesome for those with lactose intolerance, which affects up to 68% of people worldwide—meaning that most of us cannot digest pizza comfortably. And for cows, whose milk is used to make cheese, pizza represents a system built on suffering and exploitation.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Dairy-free cheeses are widely available, delicious, affordable and already used by many restaurants. Smart pizza businesses and brands are rising to meet demand as dairy-free cheese has gained popularity. Vegan pizza allows dairy-free folks to eat the same food as everyone else. And that’s what pizza is supposed to do: bring us together. But pizza made of dairy tears mothers and babies apart.

Cows produce milk for the same reason humans do: to feed their babies. But on dairy farms, workers forcibly impregnate cows using what the industry calls a “rape rack” to keep them lactating. Then, their calves are taken shortly after birth—males are often sent to veal crates, while females are raised to replace their mothers. This separation causes extreme distress for the mother and the newborn.

At the same time, a growing body of research raises serious concerns about dairy’s impact on human health. Studies have linked dairy consumption to increased risks of prostate, breast and ovarian cancers. Just one serving of cow’s milk per day has been associated with significantly higher cancer risk, and some studies show that drinking less than a full glass of milk daily can double the risk of breast cancer.

None of this harm is necessary—especially when it comes to pizza.

National Pizza Week is an opportunity to realize that pizza doesn’t require anything from an animal to be delicious. Some frozen vegan pizzas and certain restaurants offer vegan pepperoni and sausage that deliver familiar, savory flavors.

And, of course, there are plenty of vegetables—such as olives, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach and artichokes—that amp up the flavor and nutrition. Vegan options like these don’t exclude people with allergies or lactose intolerance, and they don’t rely on exploiting animals. They simply work—for everyone at the table and beyond.

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Rebecca Libauskas is a climate research specialist for the PETA Foundation, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org.

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