The world’s top QSRs by revenue—Starbucks and McDonald’s—are on their heels when it comes to plastic straws. McDonald’s has moved to paper straws in some markets, to mixed reviews. Starbucks went even further, with a plan to phase out more than a billion plastic straws globally through a newly designed lid for cold beverages. This isn’t the first time QSRs have been in environmental activist crosshairs. McDonald’s, for example, committed to removing Polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam) sandwich packaging in 1990 and has since phased it out in other areas of restaurant operations.

So… Why plastic straws? Why now?

In 2015, a marine biologist filmed the extraction of a plastic straw from a Sea Turtle’s nose. The original video has garnered more than 39 million views and permeated the global cultural zeitgeist. The biologist’s message resonated through her title, which was tagged in all caps at the end, “NO TO PLASTIC STRAWS.” Not even the biologist could have known what an effective framing that would become.

Since the video, search engine inquiries about straws have tied the seemingly innocuous plastic cylinders to Sea Turtles. In fact, 80 percent of the breakout straw-related search terms have either been about turtles or bans. Speaking of bans: The consumer sentiment around plastic straws—due not only to animal welfare but also to how difficult it can be to recycle them—has pushed governments of all sizes to varying levels of regulation. Consumers are now demanding straw alternatives at the restaurant counter and through trending topics online like #StopSucking, #StrawlessOcean, and #RefuseTheStraw.

Many QSRs and fast casuals are favoring a paper straw alternative to address consumer concerns. However, that solution isn’t going as well as they may have hoped. The same consumers who demanded alternatives to plastic straws take to Twitter to complain about paper straws breaking down in their drinks before they’ve finished. For some in the US, it’s even become a political badge of honor to use plastic straws. In fact, Donald Trump’s campaign website sells branded plastic straws $15 for ten.

The question is, what now? Do QSR brands continue to pursue the most environmentally sound solution? Or, is it better to weather the storm of public unrest and keep the plastic straws many can’t seem to live without? In the US, the election cycle may sway the issue more than we anticipate.

This piece originally appeared in WPP’s BrandZ Top Global Brands Report 2020.

For QSR brands, the turtle video is the last straw