Unlike its UK arm, Starbucks USA is yet to update its vegan upcharge policy.

Succession star James Cromwell has renewed pressure on Starbucks to end its vegan milk surcharge in a new PETA-led campaign.

The actor’s appeal appears on nearly 100 screens along the Atlantic City Boardwalk in New Jersey.

The five-mile-long stretch is said to be the busiest and longest boardwalk in the world and is within sight of two Starbucks locations as well.

The Boardwalk messaging reads: “Stop milking customers who choose vegan options.”

According to Cromwell, “Dropping the upcharge would make it easier for compassionate customers to choose animal- and planet-friendly vegan options.”

He added that Starbucks should take a cue and join the many other coffee companies who have already stopped charging extra for these choices.

Starbucks and the vegan upcharge

While the coffee chain continues to charge up to 80 cents to use plant milk instead of the standard dairy option in the US and Canada, it has dropped the surcharge in Germany, UK, France, Chile, and the Netherlands.

Animal activists keep mounting pressure on the North American arm to follow suit especially since Starbucks has agreed in the past that plant milk is environmentally superior and that regular dairy milk is the biggest contributor to the brand’s carbon footprint.

Celebrity campaigning for change at Starbucks

Apart from Cromwell, several celebrities including former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney have asked Starbucks to drop the extra fee for dairy-free milk.

Last year, while Cromwell glued himself to a Starbucks counter to protest the vegan upcharge, McCartney penned a letter to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.  

He wrote: “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 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.

“My friends at PETA are campaigning for this to happen and I have agreed to support them …. I sincerely hope that for the future of the planet and animal welfare, you are able to implement this policy.”

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