Paul McCartney writes to Starbucks to end surcharge on plant-based milk

On this day, Paul McCartney continued his work with PETA by sending a letter to Starbucks coffee company’s CEO, asking him to remove the surcharge the company currently applies on plant-based milks in its US coffeehouses.

Dear Mr. Johnson,

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. 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 with the quote: “Sir Paul is asking Starbucks to end its surcharge on plant milks,” and I sincerely hope that for the future of the planet and animal welfare you are able to implement this policy.

Many thanks.

All the Best,

Sir Paul McCartney

From Billboard, March 30, 2022

From PETA, March 30, 2022:

Ahead of Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson’s upcoming retirement on April 4, Sir Paul McCartney sent a letter to the outgoing exec, urging him to take the coffee giant’s problematic vegan milk surcharge out the door with him as he leaves the company.

“My friends at PETA are campaigning for this,” wrote McCartney. “I sincerely hope that for the future of the planet and animal welfare you are able to implement this policy.”

From PETA UK:

Sir Paul McCartney to Starbucks HQ: ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ – Lose Vegan Milk Surcharge!

Seattle – Ahead of his upcoming tour stop in Seattle, where Starbucks is based, Sir Paul McCartney is asking the company’s US stores to end the surcharge on plant-based milks – just as Starbucks has already done in the UK. In a just-sent letter, the long-time PETA ally urges CEO Kevin Johnson to leave a parting gift for cows and the planet by arranging to end the US chain’s vegan milk upcharge before he retires on 4 April.

“My friends at PETA US are campaigning for this,” McCartney writes. “I sincerely hope that for the future of the planet and animal welfare you are able to implement this policy.”

PETA notes that, unlike Johnson, cows in the dairy industry don’t get a happy retirement. Instead, they’re repeatedly and forcibly impregnated – workers insert an arm into the animals’ rectum and a metal rod to deliver semen into their vagina – and then sent to slaughter when their bodies give out. And while Johnson is enjoying the twilight of his life, Starbucks is fuelling the climate catastrophe that will imperil future generations’ chance to do the same, as cows’ milk is the biggest contributor to Starbucks’ carbon footprint.

Sir Paul points out that numerous chains in the US offer dairy-free milk at no extra charge. Starbucks dropped the vegan milk upcharge in the UK at the beginning of 2022, joining chains such as Pret A Manger.

McCartney’s full letter is available upon request. PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.