Controversy with your coffee?

May 14, 2007 Monday

By Rebecca Rosen Lum

Regular or nonfat? Single or double shot? Pro- or anti-creationism?

Starbucks has been drawing heated responses since the coffee giant began printing quotations on its cups.

Atheists fumed when they got a shot of the Rev. Rick Warren ("The Purpose-Driven Life") with their latte, and Christians balked at gay writer Armistead Maupin's comment that "life is too damn short" to spend in the closet.

So outraged is one organization by the anti-evolution messages that it dispatched its members to protest the practice via e-mail and phone calls.

"I mean, my God," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. "It's rather unforgivable. They're going to give their customers heartburn."

The cups include quotes by artists, writers, scientists and other noteworthy people on a variety of subjects.

The Seattle-based Starbucks began its "The Way I See It" program to stimulate dialogue over coffee. Company officials say they have achieved their goal.

"Based upon the input we have received on the program, people engage in discussion on some of these topics," said Starbucks spokeswoman Erika Mapes in an e-mail message.

Still, servers say they hear many complaints.

"Especially when it gets close to the holidays," said Kristi Baldwin, shift supervisor at a Walnut Creek Starbucks. "They can be controversial."

Maupin's quote sent some sippers back to the counter to demand a different cup. Baldwin said barristas dump the offending cup and offer a new drink with a smile.

And not everyone takes umbrage.

"It's nice to educate about the culture," said Ghenwa Serhan, a Walnut Creek customer.

"My first reaction was, 'eeuw,' is Starbucks trying to cram creationism down my throat along with my Americano?" said Berkeley journalist Susan Kuchinskas.

Kuchinskas reacted to two quotes on vente-sized cups. One from biologist and author Jonathan Wells links Darwin's theory of evolution with eugenics, abortion and racism. The other from author David Quammen says evolution has been "abundantly reconfirmed, explaining physical phenomena by physical causes."

On a closer reading, Kuchinskas recognized "an attempt to provoke thought and discussion -- which it obviously has."

Gaylor isn't buying.

"What are they going to do next, run quotes challenging the theory of gravity, then run a separate one by Galileo saying, 'Oh, no, it's true'? No wonder this country is going downhill scientifically."

Starbucks is not the first company to float religion on its merchandise: Forever 21 and XXI clothing chains stamp the Bible quote "For God so loved the world ..." on shopping bags. In-N-Out Burger has been serving up Scripture with its drinks and fries for 20 years. The biblical passages are on the bottom of its containers.

"I love it," said Maggie Edmunds, a customer of In-N-Out Burger in Pinole. "It makes (the company) seem more personal -- not cold and impersonal, like a corporation. I would like to see more of this."

Ron Zee, a Christian, found word of the cup-bottom Scripture at In-N-Out intriguing. When he lifted up a cup and found one, "I said to myself, 'Cool.'"

The practice allows a business to unobtrusively introduce itself and the beliefs of its owners, Zee said. Nonetheless, silence is golden; he wouldn't want an employee to strike up a conversation on the subject.

"I go to a restaurant to eat, not to be proselytized, even if I agree with the agenda," he said.

A Spokesman for In-N-Out Burger declined comment. Forever 21 and XXI could not be reached for comment.

The label for All Natural Bragg Liquid Aminos bears a tiny fish-symbol and scriptural reference to John 3:2. It reads, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

Who could argue with that?

"I don't want to have to walk down the grocery store aisles carrying my indexless Bible trying to make sure the food I'm buying is making the right religious statement," said Chloe Etienne, an East Bay shopper. "It's hard enough to read all the labels for nutritional content."

"Sorry," she said. "I believe in a separation between church and food."