The Weekly Pick – Starbucks

Our pick of the week this week is Starbucks. Those of you who might know about Food & Water Watch’s campaign to get Starbucks to only use milk from cows not treated with rBGH (that we’ve been supporting) might be surprised to see that we’ve picked Starbucks, but we think we have reason to celebrate. (rBGH is the genetically engineered hormone given to cows to make them produce more milk and is quite controversial.)

Their spokesperson called me today to say that Starbucks is now officially 51% free of rBGH in all their fluid milk products (which we mentioned in an earlier blog post) – that’s up from 37% not too long ago. And he stated that Starbucks is committed to going 100% rBGH-free as soon as they can.

The spokesman said that even as early as this past January they were not sure if they would actually be able to remove all rBGH-treated milk from their US stores so publicly they said they were considering it and speaking with suppliers. But they now know that it is possible to go 100% rBGH-free, and they said they are committed to doing so.

They couldn’t give us an actual timeline for when this will happen, saying that they’re working with farmers and aren’t sure how much more time it will take (though they would like it to be the end of the year). So, even though we’re celebrating here at Sustainable Table – and you should celebrate too, especially if you go to Starbucks – we need to make sure that the company follows through on their commitment. So check their website every so often, or ask the manager at any Starbucks you go into, to make sure that the complete switch to rBGH-free milk is made.

That said – congratulations, Starbucks – for caring about us, the cows and the planet!