Adding additional costs to plant-based milk is simply unfair and makes sustainable options inaccessible

If you’re lactose intolerant or vegan, it’s a familiar scenario: reaching for your wallet to pay an extra surcharge because you opted for a plant-based milk option on your coffee run. Starbucks in the US charges an extra 70 cents for soy, almond, oat, or coconut milk. The same goes for Starbucks in Thailand, an additional 20 baht for plant-based milk options. While additional costs vary with different cafes, there still are upcharges for plant-based milk options.

A month ago, Paul McCartney urged Starbucks to stop charging more for plant-based milk. A vegan since 1975, the musician founded the Meat Free Mondays campaign in 2009 alongside his daughters, Mary and Stella. Throughout his career, he has also worked with PETA on several projects.

McCartney has called out Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson by writing a letter to end the surcharge on Starbucks’ plant-based milk options before he retires from the company on April 4th, 2022.

“It recently came to my attention that Starbucks in the USA has an extra charge for plant-based milks as opposed to cow’s milk,” McCartney wrote to Johnson. “I must say this surprised me as I understand that in other countries like the UK and India, there is the same charge for both types of milk and I would like to politely request that you consider this policy also in Starbucks USA.”

In his polite request, he mentioned that his friends at PETA are campaigning for this and sincerely hopes that “for the future of the planet and animal welfare you are able to implement this policy.” The production of cow’s milk generates three times more greenhouse-gas emissions and uses nine times more land than vegan alternatives do, according to PETA.

Following Paul McCartney’s request, actor and animal rights activist James Cromwell glued his hand to the counter of a Starbucks in New York City on May 10th, 2022 voicing the same concerns as McCartney while wearing a “Free the Animals” T-shirt. The Oscar-nominated actor called out the giant coffee chain’s unjust practice of promoting animal cruelty and environmental damage.

“Succession” actor James Cromwell super-glued himself to a Starbucks counter in protest of their extra charge for vegan milk. pic.twitter.com/ou63Zp0om7

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 10, 2022

In a press release from PETA, Cromwell said “My friends at PETA and I are calling on Starbucks to stop punishing kind and environmentally conscious customers for choosing plant-based milk. We all have a stake in the life-and-death matter of the climate catastrophe, and Starbucks should do its part by ending its vegan upcharge.”

Unfortunately, Johnson retired before ending the plant-based milk surcharge. Why is the global coffee chain making it more expensive for people who opt for conscious choices? If it’s better for the animals, the climate, and dietary restrictions, why should it cost more in the first place?