Famed News Anchor Asks Starbucks for More Vegan Food

Acclaimed journalist and animal activist Jane Valez-Mitchell teamed last week with animal-rights organization Compassion Over Killing to launch the “Tag Starbucks” social media campaign. The campaign asks participants to write “Vegan food, please” on a reusable cup at Starbucks, take a photo, and tag it on social media with #VeganStarbucks and #StarbucksCupChallenge. Starbucks launched its first vegan-certified lunch option—the Vegan Lentils & Vegetables Protein Bowl with Brown Rice—in select cities this July, but many customers have had trouble finding the option at their local coffeehouses. In conjunction with the campaign, Velez-Mitchell—who admittedly loves to visit Starbucks—created a petition and promotional video to create more buzz. “As the nation’s largest coffee chain,” the petition states, “Starbucks has the potential to put compassionate plant-based meals in front of millions of consumers, but the company needs a latte feedback from its customers first.” Last year, Starbucks introduced almond milk at all of its locations in the United States after identifying the plant-based milk as one of its “most-requested ideas of all time.”