I am being told by a dairy-free friend, Parmesan has one of the lowest counts of lactose so can be enjoyed from time to time by those who are lactose-intolerant. Apparently, nutritional yeast flakes can be used instead of Parmesan cheese for making pesto if you need to completely avoid dairy or are vegan. Lastly, olive oil tends to go bitter when over-processed so I use macadamia oil instead.