On faux-milk taxes

Another national chain just got a little more vegan friendly by metaphorically putting on a coconut whipped cream bikini. Peet’s Coffee & Tea now offers this dairy-free topping for pumpkin lattes, mochas and other blended drinks, with soy or almond milk for lactose- and cruelty-intolerant customers. The chain even has clearly labeled vegan pastries: apricot oatmeal scones; oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip and ginger cookies. However, the milk alternatives come with an extra charge—a faux-milk tax. It’s a common practice—Peet’s (and Starbucks’) is 60 cents, and Temple’s is 75 to 95 cents—even though Veronica Houk with VegNews said in 2015, “nondairy milk alternatives cost roughly the same as cow’s milk today.” So we should demand that the faux-milk supply shouldn’t cost more, right? Is that how supply-and-demand works? We covered it in high school economics, but we were distracted covering ourselves with vegan whipped-cream bikinis instead. Thanks for the assist, Peet’s.