A group of protesters stepped into concrete-embedded boots outside a Starbucks in Nashville on Thursday, blocking the store’s entrances and exits and waving signs to end “the vegan surcharge” on plant-based milk.
The campaign — designed to emphasize that protesters will not budge from efforts to stop the Seattle-based coffee giant from imposing additional fees on dairy-free options — kicked off this summer, with participants raising their hands at Starbucks counters in Chicago, New York City and Seattle.
The Nashville protest, which saw participants arrested, closed an entire street on West End Avenue and drew over a dozen police cars, according to a WSMV4 report.
A protester had to be taken to the hospital because of foot pain.PETA
According to the report, a protester was taken to hospital for foot pain from the cement. The protesters wore wellies, which they appeared to be able to get out of when police asked them to leave, but one protester reportedly had to be taken to hospital with a sore foot.
Another — Michigan’s Daniel Bifano — refused to leave his cement block and was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, according to the report.
According to a press release from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Sir Paul McCartney has supported his tactic, sending letters to Starbucks honchos to “drop the surcharge”.
“My friends at PETA are committed to this,” McCartney wrote in the letter, which was first published on Billboard.com. “I sincerely hope that for the future of the planet and animal welfare, you are able to implement this policy.”
Starbucks, which is besieged by its own employees who have unionized or filed documents to organize hundreds of stores across the country, said in a statement: “We respect our customers’ right to respectfully speak their minds while they do so.” nothing disturbs our shop operations.”
The company also said customers can add a “squirt” of its alternative milk to their drinks for free, but it charges an additional fee for more than one squirt. The surcharge is about 50 cents to $1.
“Adding a shot of alternative milk to brewed coffee, iced coffee, cold brew and americano beverages will be offered free of charge,” a Starbucks spokesman said in a statement.
PETA said the surcharge is non-negotiable.
On Thursday, protesters called on the company to “stop punishing people who care about cows, the environment and their own health with extra fees for plant-based milk.”
An entire street in Nashville was closed due to the protest. PETA
“Cows used for milk production are forcibly inseminated (raped) – workers insert an arm into the cow’s rectum and a metal rod to convey sperm into her vagina – and their beloved calves are snatched away from them so that the milk, intended to feed their babies can be used by people,” the group said in a statement.