Protesters to ‘Roast’ Starbucks Over Vegan Milk Surcharge

PETA Will ‘Press’ the Company to Stop Charging Extra for Eco- and Animal-Friendly Dairy-Free Options

For Immediate Release:
September 3, 2019

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

On Wednesday, a klatch of PETA supporters will swarm a Starbucks store in Philly to get the message that the chain needs to dump its upcharge for dairy-free milk percolating. Holding signs proclaiming, “Soymilk Surcharge Sux” and “Vegan Surcharge: Udder Nonsense,” the protesters will point out that the extra charge punishes those who are lactose intolerant––most of whom are people of color––along with anyone who simply wants to reduce methane-gas emissions or who opposes cruelty to cows.

When:    Wednesday, September 4, 12 noon

Where:    Starbucks, 1801 Spruce St. (at the intersection with S. 18th Street), Philadelphia

“The vile way cow’s milk is obtained is enough to leave a sour taste in anyone’s mouth,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Add to that how wretched dairy farming is for the environment and how unfair it is to charge people who are lactose intolerant extra, and PETA’s cup runneth over with reasons why Starbucks should ditch the surcharge.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—notes that in today’s dairy industry, cows are artificially inseminated (raped via a syringe) and calves are torn away from their loving mothers within a day of birth. Mother cows have been known to wail for their calves for days after separation. Male calves are often slaughtered for veal, and females are sentenced to the same miserable fate as their mothers.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.