Ahead of National Ice Cream Day (Sunday, July 18), PETA has scoured the menus of traditional ice cream shops across the country in search of the best vegan ice creams—and a bevy of beloved brands are topping the list:
- Dairy Queen, which created its first-ever vegan frozen dessert—the Non-Dairy Dilly Bar, a crunchy chocolate–coated, coconut cream–based dream—after years of pressure from PETA
- Ben & Jerry’s, whose beloved vegan flavors are available not only by the pint but also by the scoop (Flavors include Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Coconut Almond Fudge Chip, and Cold Brew Coffee Fudge Chip.)
- Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, whose dairy-free creations include Dark Chocolate Truffle, Cold Brew With Coconut Cream, Roasted Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam, Texas Sheet Cake, and Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns
- Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream, which can customize any ice cream order with a soy-, almond-, or cashew-milk base—and load it up with all the toppings anyone could want
“Customers are clamoring for ice cream that’s kind to cows, and the country’s top scoop shops are paying attention,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is celebrating the chains that are dishing up some of the most delicious dairy-free treats around.”
The list also features several regional ice cream chains, including Amy’s Ice Creams (Texas), Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop (San Leandro, California) Halo Top (Los Angeles), McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams (California), OddFellows Ice Cream Co. (Brooklyn), Perry’s Ice Cream (Northeastern U.S.), Salt & Straw (West Coast), Stewart’s Shops (New York State), and Van Leeuwen (Brooklyn and Los Angeles).
Each person who goes vegan dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint and saves the lives of nearly 200 animals every year. Cows in the dairy industry are artificially inseminated—workers insert an arm into the animals’ rectum and a metal rod to deliver semen into their vagina—and then sent to slaughter when their bodies give out.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org