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Neil Young boycotts Starbucks over GMO labeling lawsuit: With addendum Printer friendly page Print This
By Neil Young
Popular Resistance
Sunday, Nov 23, 2014


I used to line up and get my latte everyday, but yesterday was my last one.

Starbucks has teamed up with Monsanto to sue Vermont, and stop accurate food labeling. Tell Starbucks to withdraw support for the lawsuit — we have a right to know what we put in our mouths.

Starbucks doesn’t think you have the right to know what’s in your coffee. So it’s teamed up with Monsanto to sue the small U.S. state of Vermont to stop you from finding out. Hiding behind the shadowy “Grocery Manufacturers Association,” Starbucks is supporting a lawsuit that’s aiming to block a landmark law that requires genetically-modified ingredients be labeled. Amazingly, it claims that the law is an assault on corporations’ right to free speech.

Monsanto might not care what we think — but as a public-facing company, Starbucks does. If we can generate enough attention, we can push Starbucks to withdraw its support for the lawsuit, and then pressure other companies to do the same. Vermont is a small, entirely rural state with just 600,000 people. It’s a classic David and Goliath fight between Vermont and Monsanto. Considering that Starbucks has been progressive on LGBT and labor issues in the past, it’s disappointing that it is working with the biggest villain of them all, Monsanto.

There’s much more at stake here than just whether GMO foods will be labeled in a single U.S. state. Vermont is the very first state in the U.S. to require labeling. Dozens of other states have said that they will follow this path — in order to encourage this, we need to ensure that Vermont’s law stands strong. That’s why Monsanto and its new allies are fighting so hard to kill GMO labeling in Vermont.

But whatever you think of GMOs, corporations should not be using massive lawsuits to overturn legitimate, democratic decisions with strong public backing. SumOfUs is already fighting back — they helped Vermont raise almost a quarter of a million dollars to defend themselves against Monsanto’s bullying! Help them by going to SumOfUs and registering to donate or sign a petition. The next strategic step is to pressure and call out members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the shadowy body leading the lawsuit. Your backing can help.

Add your voice now. Tell Starbucks to stop supporting the lawsuit against Vermont.

Thanks for caring!
Neil Young
Vancouver BC Canada

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ADDENDUM:
Starbucks begs to differ with Mr Young. The excerpt below clarifies their position (the original article in full is here).
Starbucks flatly denied, via Twitter, that the company has anything to do with the lawsuit. Vermont's new labeling law requires that companies identify whether its food products contain genetically modified organisms.

"Starbucks is not a part of any lawsuit pertaining to GMO labeling nor have we provided funding for any campaign," said Starbucks. "And Starbucks is not aligned with Monsanto to stop food labeling or block Vermont State law. The petition claiming that Starbucks is part of this litigation is completely false and we have asked the petitioners to correct their description of our position."

Neither company is named in the lawsuit, but both are members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a lobbying group that filed the suit. But Starbucks said that doesn't matter.

"While we are a member of the GMA, we disagree with the association and Monsanto on this issue, and we don't support the lawsuit," the company said in an email to CNNMoney. "It is important for Starbucks to participate in trade associations because participation gives us a voice in the industry debate about these kinds of issues."

GMA spokesman Brian Kennedy confirmed that Starbucks is an "affiliate member" without any involvement in the group's lawsuit.

"As an affiliate member, it is not involved in any policy, governance, or legal work with the Association, which includes the lawsuit in Vermont," said Kennedy.



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