Starbucks: Do your homework before bashing dairy for political points
Well, Starbucks, I wasn’t expecting you to proclaim that you’re looking to transition more of your customers away from dairy to plant-based drinks for sustainability purposes. I think targeting the most locally sourced item on your menu, traveling less than 100 miles from the dairy to your store, completely misses the mark when you consider the greenhouse gases emitted by the airplanes your buyers take to visit your coffee farms in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Don’t get me started on the monumental amount of plastic and paper waste that comes from your almost 30,000 stores worldwide. Your “sustainability experts” cannot begin to claim those practices are environmentally friendly or sustainable.
While I applaud you for building “a great, enduring company that strikes a balance between profitability and a social conscience,” you lost your conscience when you made rash and false accusations against the dairy industry. In your zeal for more profits, your pandering to the followers of your new stockholder, PETA, by promoting more plant-based beverages as a sustainable substitute is not all that surprising.
Not surprising, but definitely misguided.
As a California dairy farmer, I want to tell you dairy’s impressive sustainability story as well as the nutritional story of dairy.
My fellow California dairy farmers and I have coined the term “planet-smart dairy” which means producing more with less — less water, less energy, and fewer fossil fuels. In 1950, there were 25 million dairy cows and today there are slightly over 9 million; however, we produce 60% more milk using 90% less land and 65% less water which has reduced our carbon footprint by two-thirds.
In California — the nation’s leading dairy state — the animal agriculture sector produces about 5% of total greenhouse gas emissions, while the transportation sector is responsible for 41%, according to the California Air Resources Board. Need I remind you about emissions from your coffee buyers’ planes, or cars waiting in line for their Venti Lattes at your drive-thrus?
As the original environmentalists, farmers are always looking to improve. California dairy farms will soon be more than halfway to achieving the state’s world-leading target for reducing methane — a 40% reduction below 2013 levels, by 2030.
How are we achieving this?
- California currently has roughly 30 methane dairy digesters and is on pace to have as many as 120 by 2022.
- Collectively, the more than 230 dairy methane reduction projects are estimated to reduce more than 50 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over the next 20 years.
With these projects, our industry’s annual emissions reduction will be equal to taking more than half a million cars off the road.
I believe you are overlooking the nutritional powerhouse that milk is, compared to plant-based beverages. Although they are positioned next to each other on the store shelf, non-dairy beverages often are not the complete nutritional equivalent. You can count on the fact that cow’s milk, whether fat-free, low-fat or lactose-free, contains the same nine essential nutrients, including 300 milligrams of calcium (30% daily value) and 100 IUs (international units) of vitamin D per cup serving. And let’s be real here, the flavor that dairy provides just enhances your very bold coffee.
Starbucks, I am disappointed in you for making such brash moves. I completely understand some of us cannot enjoy dairy for various reasons, so I am not saying do away with plant-based beverages. But don’t force it or make those of us who enjoy dairy feel bad because you think it’s more sustainable. Next time, do a little more research and stand firm on sound science, not what’s trending or popular.
As a dairy farmer, I am always happy to see so many people in your stores enjoying mostly milk in your coffee creations. They know a great combination when they taste it. Let’s keep them happy with real dairy in their cups!
This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM.