Luckily, it’s easier than ever to find a decent coffee with your favourite plant milk, but unfortunately cafés often hike up the price for anyone avoiding dairy.

Many chains do keep equivalent prices for plant milk, but Starbucks still lumps an additional cost onto vegans in some locations.

And now a petition has been launched on the PETA website to make additional plant milk prices a thing of the past.

“It’s awesome that Starbucks offers so many delicious vegan milk options—such as coconut, soy, and almond milk (and even oat milk at select stores)—but customers shouldn’t have to pay extra to have dairy-free milk in their drinks,” PETA argues.

More and more people are switching to plant milk while dairy milk sales have been plummeting for years as the number of vegans soars.

Many other chains—including Tim Hortons, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Biggby Coffee, Noah’s New York Bagels, Philz Coffee, and Costa Coffee—already offer dairy-free milk at no extra charge.

Animal-friendly

“Starbucks should be encouraging customers to choose animal-friendly, vegan milks rather than cow’s milk,” PETA added.

You can share the petition or email it to Starbucks here.

The campaign began with a letter to the coffee chain from a dissatisfied customer, which has been shared on PETA’s website.

“I love Starbucks and frequent the chain to order coffee with either coconut, soy, or almond milk,” the letter reads.

“But I’m disappointed that I continue to be charged extra for ordering dairy-free milk in my drink.

“Customers shouldn’t have to pay more for choosing a healthy, animal- and environmentally friendly option.

“By charging an additional fee for vegan milks, Starbucks is likely deterring some people from trying them in their drinks.”

Should plant milk cost more? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

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