See How This Student Club Helped Make Peet’s Coffee More Compassionate

Posted by Calvin on April 03, 2025

Student clubs can make a massive difference for animals. Case in point: Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy (BOAA), a student club at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), campaigned to help get Peet’s Coffee to stop charging extra for vegan milk on their campus. And guess what? It worked!

Before these students started their campaign, Peet’s Coffee locations at UC Berkeley charged at least 80 cents extra for non-dairy milk. 😒 This was messed up in so many ways—dairy-based milk comes from cows who were torn away from their babies, sexually assaulted, and sent to slaughter. Plus, it’s damaging af to the environment and obvi damaging to people who are lactose intolerant. Being punished for choosing a non-dairy option makes no sense. 

The BOAA students agree—they urged UC Berkeley’s University Business Partnerships & Services department to drop the Peet’s surcharge on campus, We asked why working on this campaign was important to them, and they said, “Working on the Peet’s campaign was important for BOAA because many of our members do not consume dairy products and previously had to pay the non-dairy upcharge when we bought coffee on campus. We also saw pushing Peet’s to drop the upcharge as an impactful, attainable way to help animals and build a more sustainable food system.”

Thanks to BOAA and countless other advocates who spoke up, all Peet’s locations joined Scooter’s Coffee, Tim Hortons, Dutch Bros Coffee, Starbucks, and Dunkin’ in dropping the upcharge. 🎉 This proves that student groups like BOAA have the power to influence even the biggest corporations.

Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy (BOAA) is an amazing group of students united by a shared drive to make the world a better place for animals. It is a welcoming and inspiring environment and has accomplished tangible change for animals over its 25-year history.

If BOAA’s victory is giving you major activism inspo, you should join or start an animal advocacy club at your school. A well-organized group of people who share the same values can accomplish anything—and your position as students gives you even more power. Companies really care what Gen Z/Alpha think, so let them know that making animal-friendly choices is the biggest green flag we look for.

When asked what advice they’d give to students like you, BOAA said, “students who oppose cruelty towards animals should not be afraid to speak respectfully but firmly about their beliefs. The best people in history have been the ones who stood up for their values, even when it was unpopular. In addition, they might be surprised by how many people quietly agree with them.”

For BOAA’s dedication to urging Peet’s to drop the vegan upcharge, peta2 is presenting the group with our Hero to Animals Award. 🙌

Great work, BOAA, and thanks for continuing to speak up for animals! Ready to follow in these students’ footsteps? Register your animal advocacy club and start campaigning against injustices. 💪

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Once your club is up and running, it’s time to have fun. 🥳 Plan these awesome animal-friendly activities to grow your club and mobilize your school.