Teen to ‘Roast’ Starbucks Over Vegan Milk Upcharge
Eighth-Grader Will Lead PETA Protest Against Penalty for Those Choosing Eco- and Animal-Friendly Options
For Immediate Release:
January 17, 2020
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
Armed with giant PETA posters proclaiming, “Soy Milk Surcharge Sux,” eighth-grader Erin Ersoy will lead a group of protesters in occupying a local Starbucks on Saturday. She’ll point out that the chain’s extra charge for dairy-free milk punishes those who are lactose intolerant—often people of color—along with anyone who simply wants to reduce methane-gas emissions or opposes cruelty to cows. The protest—which is part of PETA’s Week of Action, during which teens and other activists will occupy Starbucks locations across the U.S. and Canada—follows a recent protest at the home of Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.
When: Saturday, January 18, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Where: Starbucks, 1251 Middle Country Rd., Selden
“Soy and nut milks shouldn’t cost a cent more than their dairy counterparts, which are cruel to cows, promote climate change, and are indigestible to many humans,” says PETA Director of Student Campaigns and Influence Rachelle Owen. “Young people are leading the charge in demanding that the company wake up and smell the coffee: It’s time for the unfair surcharge to end.”
In today’s dairy industry, cows are forcibly impregnated (raped via an inserted syringe) and calves are torn away from their loving mothers within a day of birth. Male calves are often slaughtered for veal, and females are eventually sentenced to the same miserable fate as their mothers. And according to the United Nations, animal agriculture is responsible for nearly a fifth of human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions and a global shift to vegan eating is vital if we are to combat the worst effects of climate change.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
