Campaigners are calling on high-street coffee chains to ditch the surcharge added to plant-based milks in drinks.
Veganuary – a charity encouraging people to adopt a vegan diet in January (250,000 took part in 2019) – is calling on brands such as Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Café Nero and Pret-A-Manger to make all milk free for customers.
Most high street and many independent coffee shops charge an additional cost (ranging anywhere between 20p and £1) to those who choose to drink soya, oat, almond or coconut products over traditional dairy milk. Customers who buy their own plant milk from supermarkets will know they often retail for about double the cost of a pint of dairy, but hefty charges for a splash of the stuff feels somewhat unjust.
But Veganuary highlights that some coffee shops, like AMT Coffee and London’s Protein Haus, have already committed to giving their customers the freedom of choice without handing over more money. Related... We Tried Pea Milk On Its Own And In Our Cuppa – Here's Our Verdict Toni Vernally, head of communications at Veganuary, said in a statement: “Charging extra for plant milk is effectively a tax on climate-conscious customers.
“Animal farming is responsible for more than half of all food-related greenhouses gases and cows are the prime cause, with each one burping out 600 litres of methane a day. The true cost of cow’s milk is climate catastrophe.”
Earlier this month the UN issued a report saying that switching to a plant-based diet can help fight climate change. The report found the high consumption of meat and dairy in the western world is fuelling global warming.
The report prepared by 107 scientists, found cutting down meat and dairy consumption could help slow progress but the paper stopped short of explicitly calling on everyone to become vegan or vegetarian.
If providers do start handing out free non-dairy milks, brands might need to up their supplies after oat-milk brand Oatly has faced numerous shortages in the last couple of years.
The Swedish brand says a rise in consumption of plant-based milks has far outstripped current supply – a confirmation it is experiencing “unprecedented demand” with 100 per cent growth in the
UK market since 2017.
“We’ve recently produced and sold more Oat drink than ever before,” Ishen Paran, the brand’s general manager, explained.
The call for free plant-milk comes on World Plant Milk Day (22 August), an annual collaboration between ProVeg International, a food awareness group, and Plant Based News.Related... Wagamama Launches Vegan 'Egg' – We Tried It (And Filmed It) 9 Things Vegetarians Want You To Know About Ditching Meat For Good 5 Vegan Foods You Can Regrow At Home To Cut Back On Waste (And Supermarket Bills)