Both my wife and kid are allergic to milk, and every time I have to order a plant-based milk somewhere for an extra charge, I am reminded of how disabilities get taxed extra in this country. Charging extra for allergy substitutions is so common we forget how discriminatory it really is.
Having just moved, we decided to try a nearby Black Rock Coffee. They charge $1.25 for plant-based milks. That’s even worse than Starbucks, who charges 70 cents and has since at least 1998. It’s a pretty widespread phenomenon, and we all just accept that this is an okay thing to do even though it punishes people for a physical condition.
Which is weird when you consider how widespread milk sensitivities are. At least 36 percent of Americans have some form of lactose intolerance or milk allergy, and the number goes up sharply when talking about Black or Asian populations. I suppose it should be hardly surprising that an extra charge at American mainstream businesses would mostly affect people of color at this point, but there it is. If you’re a person of color who wants milk in their coffee, the odds are at least even someone is going to charge you more to avoid gastric distress than they would a white person.
That tax is doubly insulting when you consider how the dairy industry works. Dairy milk is heavily subsidized by the federal government and taxpayer dollars even as demand continues to crater. That’s why we had those Got Milk? ads in the 1990s and all the education campaigns about the virtues of milk. It was the government trying to increase the demand for the product and recoup some of the financial cost of the subsidies.
Plant-based milks do get some subsidies as well, but it’s a fraction of a percentage. In 2020, dairy producers received $50 billion while plant-based producers just $44 million. This is despite the fact that soy, oat, and almond milk demand has only grown. Consumers who require non-dairy options are literally paying both the federal government and private companies to treat them as a nuisance.
I’ve heard the standard rebuttals on the subject. Yes, plant-based milks are more expensive, though that is largely because of marketing and R&D on top of the fact that many grocery stores now own local dairy producers. Yes, menu substitutions slow efficiency, and some stores don’t get the same bulk discounts on plant-based milks as they do on dairy.
That said, it’s like putting a tollbooth on a wheelchair ramp because they cost more to make than steps. Sure, it’s logical from a purely economic standpoint, but it’s still making people with medical conditions shoulder all the extra costs.
There’s also this idea that ordering plant-based milks is an act of snobbery and affectation rather than a legit physical need. It reminds me of the time I took the kid to an emergency room and they charged me a $700 copay. I asked why it was so high, and they said the price discouraged people from coming to the hospital for frivolous reasons. However, they didn’t remove that charge when it turned out my baby actually had to be there, and restaurants usually don’t either if you prove you have an allergy.
Because it is, again, a tax. It’s mandatory fee levied against a vulnerable population who has no choice but to pay it, suffer, or go without. The cost could be defrayed among all customers equally. No one is arguing that there isn’t some additional expense providing the alternatives, but it’s easier to just shake down the disabled for the difference rather than upset the normies asking for an extra dime in the name of equality. It may only be a dollar here and there, but it adds up to a huge number over time, all on the backs of people who can’t help that their bodies reject dairy.
It’s nice that more places offer non-dairy alternatives, but charging extra for it is just plain discriminatory and unfair.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
