Not to kick off another spate of rage over whether or not cow’s milk is bad (my email inbox is full sorry everyone!!!) but if you happen to prefer oat, soy, or nut milk in your coffee for whatever reason, your local coffee shop/national chain probably attaches a small surcharge to it. This is generally because non-dairy milks cost more, but it is always nice to see a complimentary almond milk pitcher alongside “whole” and “skim” on the condiments table. Thanks to PETA, that good fortune might befall you at a Starbucks in the near future.
Fast Company reports that PETA just bought stock in Starbucks Corporation in hopes of getting the company’s board to provide non-dairy milk for free. Currently, if you want to avoid cow’s milk, you have to pay an extra 80 cents—which, considering Starbucks drinks already seem to cost a small fortune, is a lot to tack on. PETA would like this to change.
Per Fast Company:
“Many coffee drinkers are lactose intolerant, and PETA is intolerant of cruelty to cows, which is why charging extra for soy and nut milks is hard to swallow,” the group’s executive vice president, Tracy Reiman, said in a press release. “PETA is heading to Starbucks’ boardroom to urge the company to end this unfair surcharge.”
Non-dairy milks have become much more popular over the last few years, for a variety of reasons—more vegans, less interest in suffering stomach-churning knots for the lactose intolerant—plus, in my estimation, oat milk tastes better than the cow’s stuff, anyway. Feel free to fight me in the comments, as I’m sure you will.