The protest was a part of PETA’s campaign to get Starbucks to stop charging customers extra for the vegan milks it has agreed are better for the planet.
Babe Actor James Cromwell led a dramatic protest as he superglued his hand to a Starbucks counter in Manhattan on Tuesday.
The Midtown Manhattan “glue-in” was part of PETA’s campaign calling on Starbucks to stop ‘punishing kind and environmentally conscious customers for choosing plant milks’.
Cromwell, sporting a “Free the Animals” T-shirt, joined members of PETA inside the Broadway Starbucks near West 40th Street.
The vegan charity live-streamed the event on Facebook in which Cromwell rattled off facts about the dairy industry’s contribution to animal exploitation and the climate catastrophe while being stuck to the shop’s counter
According to Cromwell, Starbucks “still discriminates” and makes customers “pay more” for vegan options such as almond milk and oat milk, despite agreeing that vegan milks are better for the planet.
This is how you get an animal rights message to STICK!
— PETA (@peta) May 10, 2022
James Cromwell joined PETA’s campaign and glued himself to a @Starbucks counter to call on the company to stop charging extra for animal and earth-friendly vegan milks! pic.twitter.com/N9aitSQHSm
‘Starbucks should do its part’
Starbucks charges up to 70 cents extra for coffee served with any plant-based milk. In December, the coffee chain announced it was dropping that charge in the UK but not in the US.
“My friends at PETA and I are calling on Starbucks to stop punishing kind and environmentally conscious customers for choosing plant milks,” Cromwell said.
“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.”
Reading from a paper, Cromwell asked the coffee giant: “More than 13,000 customers have asked you, now we’re asking you.
“Will you stop charging more for vegan milk?
“When will you stop raking in huge profits while customers, animals and the environment suffer?
“When will you stop penalising people for their ethnicities, their morals?”
While Cromwell and his PETA allies continuously chanted “Save the planet, save the cows. End the vegan upcharge now,” the employees remained unfazed and went on with their work as usual.
The police soon arrived to drive the protesters away. Cromwell also freed himself using a knife to detach his hand from the countertop.
No arrests were made and Starbucks temporarily shut down the location
A spokesperson for Starbucks later told Page Six that it treats “all demonstrators as customers” unless there is a disruption such as PETA’s.
Cromwell and animal activism
Cromwell, who is an honorary director at PETA, has a long history of advocating for animal rights.
In 2017, he was arrested for protesting against SeaWorld’s treatment of orca whales.
Back in February 2013, the star was arrested with animal rights activist Jeremy Beckham for crashing a meeting at the University of Wisconsin to protest the mistreatment of animals on campus.
In 2019, Cromwell was arrested on the Texas A&M University campus for protesting the university’s use of dogs for medical research purposes.
- Read: Paul McCartney urges Starbucks to ditch the vegan milk surcharge for ‘the future of the planet‘
Share this story: ‘Babe’ star James Cromwell superglues hand to Starbucks counter in vegan milk upcharge protest
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Gordon Ramsay Ditches Vegan Hate and Backs Flora’s Plant-Based Butter in New ‘Skip the Cow’ Campaign
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 28th January 2025
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, once infamous for his digs at vegans, has taken a sharp turn in the kitchen. Ramsay has teamed up with Flora, the famous UK-based spread brand, as its global ambassador, marking a bold new chapter in Flora’s “Skip the Cow” campaign. Flora, established in 1964, has long been a household name …
The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 27th January 2025
Latin America is experiencing an extraordinary rise in plant-based dining options. A new study, spearheaded by Veganuary in partnership with the food discovery platform HappyCow, reveals that Latin America now boasts over 10,000 vegan, vegetarian, and vegan-friendly restaurants—an impressive 21.6% jump compared to last year. Brazil takes the crown as the number one country, with …
Continue reading “The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America”
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. [wpViralQuiz id=27203]
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. [wpViralQuiz id=33494]
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. [wpViralQuiz id=31281] Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God