James Cromwell is a legend! (Plant based milks now free in Starbucks)

[Snorkellingaround]

www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/11/james-cromwell-starbucks-stunt-celebrity-activism-succession?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

What a man! (It's the actor who played the farmer in Babe). He superglued his hand to a Starbucks counter to protest the extra charge for non-dairy choices and in doing so managed to bring press attention to the issue and change the Starbucks policy.

I've just been in my local Starbucks and there is a new poster up saying that all non dairy choices are now free

They'll probably just up the price of the coffee. Non dairy milks ARE mostly more expensive.

The government subsidises the dairy industry to allow it to be cheap. I think it's a good thing that people won't be discouraged price wise from trying to make more ethical/ non-dairy choices in Starbucks.

That’s brilliant 😊

That’s brilliant 😊

But is there any evidence that people are only choosing dairy milk because it's cheaper?

People are more likely to not choose plant milk because they're not vegan, allergic to nuts, or don't like the taste. If they wanted plant milk, they'd have it anyway as 25 p is a tiny fraction of the cost of drinks in coffee shops.

The cost probably doesn't come into it and I agree that it's likely to be the case that the price will just increase for all drinks. Or they'll put less in the drink.

I don't want plant based milk substitutes in my coffee or tea, so wasn't bothered if they cost more.

Great! It’s quite an inspiring story that he went vegan (initially vegetarian I think) because of the pig who played Babe.

Why would you want to encourage someone to eat something which is less good for them? The body doesn’t absorb calcium from non-dairy sources so well and they’re often full of sugar and additives.

The government has to subsidise farmers as a result of private enterprises, pike supermarkets and Starbucks screwing them over on the true price of producing milk. Really, everyone should be paying more for their coffee and giving the farmers a fair price for the milk.

I just wish they would use the fake milk on specific equipment, to reduce the cross-contamination risk — lots of them are based on common allergens. Might be helpful for those with dairy allergy too.

Starbucks make enough profit on their drinks - they can afford not to take advantage of people who are allergic to milk!

I am hugely underconvinced that plant milk is a far superior ethical choice.

It's also full of gums and emulsifiers which are increasingly thought to be linked to the dramatic increase in inflammatory bowel disease, especially in children.

Sure, but if I order an ordinary cappuccino, that used to be a safe-ish thing at most coffee shops unless you had a milk allergy. There's now a good chance it'll be steamed with a wand that's been used on "milks" containing oats, soya, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and pea protein. You can never guarantee lack of cross-contamination, but the risk used to be lower when the only milk was milk. I still take the risk because I don't have a life-threatening allergy (I'm a coeliac so the concern is minor — a trace of oat milk which might have had a trace of gluten, which is tiny amounts of tiny amounts), but it doesn't feel as safe.

Absolutely, full of crap.

Same as vegan "cheese" etc - full of shite!

There are many, many things that it is worth taking a stand for, but really this wasn't one of them.
Getting het up over a multimillion international coffee chain charging whatever they like for their products doesn't even make the list.

@ClumpingBambooIsALie There's definitely a valid argument for keeping milk and non milk equipment separate, but people with milk allergies should be able to buy a cappuccino, just as you should.

ImAving I have no idea what you imagine I've said and are trying to argue against.

I am hugely underconvinced that plant milk is a far superior ethical choice

me too. I thought about switching to non dairy milk but nutritionally they are not great, and not convinced they are ethically better, and they taste awful. I try to source as ethical/local as possible dairy milk and cheese instead.

Same as vegan "cheese" etc - full of shite!

which brings us back to the annoyance that is restaurants only doing vegan options for non meat eaters. I want cheese and vegetables with my tacos, not god awful “cheeze” and soya “meat”

Great news. Not just for vegans, but allergy sufferers too who shouldn’t be financially penalised.

Some of us don’t have a choice. I'm not bothered about the eco aspect as I don’t know how true that is, but I do know I can't drink cows milk and it's unfair that I'm charged extra for that.

Wow, lots of plant milk haters finding the time in their day to broadcast opposition to equalising the price of dairy and non-dairy coffee 😀 I think that actor also owns a plant milk business, good for him. Coincidentally, it was seeing Babe when I was about 10/11 that made me go veggie (more lately using plant milks) in the first place!!

How is it unfair to be charged extra for an alternative if you can't have the standard item? I pay more for lots of things because I'm a coeliac; if it costs more to provide, it costs more to provide.

There's a political/environmental argument to be made for encouraging coffee shops to subsidise their fake milks, sure, but outside that, it's normal to have to pay more to a private company if it costs them more to cater for you. Sometimes you can persuade a company it's good PR to provide the more expensive product you need for the same cost, but they're not obliged to.

The place to argue for help with the extra costs you face due to medical conditions is government — either government subsidies for private businesses to help them equalise costs for people with medical conditions, or direct financial help for people with them.

I only drink black coffee but I've never had a reduction anywhere for not requiring milk at all, so I'm not going to cheer about 'plant based' milk being free, and incidentally I am sick and tired of the term 'plant based'.

I don't hate plant milk. Of course it has its place. I use almond milk myself sometimes because I like the taste. I hate the spin that it is of course the ethical and healthier choice.

I try to buy food as close to natural as possible for my daughter. Unfortunately she can't digest lactase due to the damage in her intestines (at the minute) so she has full cream lactose free milk. I used to think plant milk was superior as a food source until I learned more about inflammatory bowel disease.