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Starbucks is saying goodbye to a surcharge. For years now, Starbucks customers who prefer their coffee with oat, soy or almond milk over cow's milk have also had to swallow surcharges of around 70 cents extra per drink. Now the coffee giant has removed the fee for non-dairy substitutes in the UK, and there’s a strong push to bring the practice to the US. Environmental activists are pushing for milk from plants for environmental reasons. They claim milk from cows is not only unhealthy but harms the environment based on the amount methane cows produce naturally. But being mindful of the planet is just one reason some people opt for nondairy alternatives, while others, including many vegans, favor plant-based milks because, unlike dairy, they pose no harm to animals. In the U.S., vegan milk accounts for 35 percent of the total plant-based food market and 15 percent of all dollar sales of retail milk. Dollar sales of plant-based milk have grown 20 percent in the past year and 27 percent over the past two years. Americans have been drinking less cow’s milk, falling at an average rate of almost 2.5 percent a year, although it remains a staple item in nearly 95 percent of households.