Neil Young and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. PHOTO: Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin/Facebook
Neil Young wanted to send a clear message to Monsanto with his most recent album release ‘The Monsanto Years,’ and now he’s sending an even stronger message in favor of mandatory GMO labeling, and upholding the integrity of democracy in general, with his latest gesture.
It’s been said that Young so badly wanted to get his message out about Monsanto, GMOs, and other pressing social topics in his new album that he didn’t even care if the lyrics rhymed or not.
And that’s exactly in the case with the album’s first single ‘A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop,’ in case you haven’t heard the lyrics yet in this surprisingly catchy song:
“When the people of Vermont wanted to label food with GMOs
So that they could find out what was in what the farmer grows
Monsanto and Starbucks through the Grocery Manufacturers Alliance
They sued the state of Vermont to overturn the people’s will!”
Simply by putting lyrics and important topics like these out into the mainstream consciousness, Young has made an immeasurable difference in the world of activism and for people who value their Right to Know whether their food contains GMOs.
But what Young did at a press conference with Vermont governor Peter Shumlin could have an even bigger impact.
Neil Young Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is
At the aforementioned press conference in Essex Junction on July 20, Young stood with Vermont governor Peter Shumlin, standing hand-in-hand in the state’s fight to uphold its mandatory GMO labeling law.
While the Vermont Senate passed the GMO labeling law by a landslide in April 2014, it may never come to fruition because of a lawsuit by the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association, a pro-GMO coalition of Big Food companies that include GMOs in their products.
Young offered up a donation of $100,000 for Vermont’s legal defense fund after calling Shumlin “out of the blue” 10 days earlier to support the campaign. That brings the total to $550,000 for the state.
He also challenged other donors who care about the cause of mandatory GMO labeling, a right afforded to citizens of over 60 countries around the world, in the state.
His 2 1/2 hour show was his first-ever headlining performance in Vermont, but it was a memorable one as he played a mix of old hits like ‘After the Gold Rush,’ ‘Down By the River’ and others while mixing in tracks like the Starbucks-related single mentioned above and ‘Workin’ Man’ off of ‘The Monsanto Years.’
Young originally called for a boycott of Starbucks because of their membership in the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association.
Along with Governor Shumlin, he mostly called out Monsanto and other GMA members for their attempts to overturn the results of a democratic decision in Vermont to label GMOs.
“I’m just a rock ‘n’ roller who believes people should know what they’re eating,” Young said during the press conference.
Shumlin, unlike most politicians in positions of power, had Young’s back in his quest to inform more people about GMOs and GMO labeling.
“I was honored to welcome music legend Neil Young to Vermont today,” he added.
“Neil is a big supporter of Vermont’s GMO labeling law and generously donated $100,000 to the legal defense fund we’ve set up to ensure your right to know wins against those trying to overturn Vermont’s common sense law.”
To find out more about the Food Fight Fund VT for GMO labeling you can visit www.foodfightfund.org.
Thanks for reading! If you care about the cause and want to save mandatory GMO labeling, you should also call your local rep. and ask them to vote no on the upcoming DARK Act. Click on this link for more information.
Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.
About Nick Meyer
