My wife, who is in the coffee business (and an unreconstructed coffee snob), is fond of saying that it’s misleading to call Starbucks a “coffee shop.” Starbucks’ primary beverage product is milk. Coffee is just one of the flavorings — along with chocolate, syrups, chai, and lord knows what else — they use in their warm milk.
So while it’s laudable, the focus on Starbucks’ use of fair-trade coffee (and semi-recycled coffee cups and wind energy) misses the area where Starbucks could have the biggest and most profound effect.
That’s why I was happy to see (obviously a little bit late) this renewed push to get Starbucks to buy only rBGH-free milk. I doubt it will have much effect, but even if the company moves to 5% or 10% rBGH-free, it could make a huge difference.
And anything that pisses off Steve Milloy gets the benefit of the doubt from me.
