Olympian & Animal Advocate Dotsie Bausch to Papa John’s: Offer Vegan Cheese!

Olympian and animal advocate Dotsie Bausch has personally sent a letter to Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter of their shared hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, a fellow cyclist with whom she’s rode before, asking that the nationwide pizza chain headquartered in Louisville offer dairy-free cheese.

Dotsie is emphasizing that this simple addition to the menu would make plant-based eating more accessible to millions of consumers nationwide.

“Everyone, hungry athletes included, craves a slice of cheesy, gooey pizza from time to time. But I—along with millions of other Americans—fuel my body with plant protein, and I hope you’ll consider adding vegan cheese to your menu so we can all enjoy Papa John’s pizza.”
– Dotsie Bausch, in her letter to Papa John’s CEO, John Schnatter

A seven-time USA Cycling National Champion and two-time Pan American Champion, Bausch knows that cows endure a systematic cycle of cruelty in the dairy industry, as a heartbreaking Compassion Over Killing (COK) investigation recently exposed.

She notes that athletes—from fellow Olympian Carl Lewis, to ultra-marathon runner Rich Roll and champion surfer Tia Blanco—are proving that we can thrive without milk from cows.

“I cycled my way to the Olympics with a whole-foods, plant-based diet, and at the age of 39.5, stood on top of the podium for the US,” writes Bausch.

Bausch has encouraged Schnatter to reply to her letter, in hopes of sharing the news with these concerned consumers.

Other big-name pizza chains like Mellow Mushroom and Pieology already offer vegan cheese on their menus. With the dairy-free market expected to reach $35 billion by 2024, Papa John’s, too, has an opportunity to shape the future of pizza by serving this growing consumer base.

Bausch, who also founded Compassion Champs to advocate “Olympic-level compassion” for animals, has previously joined COK as a celebrity Endorser of its VegWeek campaign, which empowers thousands of people around the world to try vegan eating for at least one week of the year.

Read Dotsie’s full letter here.

TAKE ACTION!

Join Dotsie Bausch and over 81,000 people who have signed COK’s Change.org petition to Papa John’s and Little Caesars, asking both chains to offer dairy-free cheese. Sign & share today!