Rocker Neil Young has released a new anthem about Starbucks, but don’t expect to hear it at any of the company’s coffee shops.
In the tune “A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop,” Young rips into Starbucks for its alleged support of genetically modified organisms, a.k.a. GMOs.
“I want a cup of coffee but I don’t want a GMO,” Young sings. “I’d like to start my day off without helping Monsanto.”
The tune has Young’s vintage sound, from his trademark distorted electric guitar to his distinctive voice, and the video shows him and the band tossing their coffee cups.
Check it out in the clip above.
The new song will be part of Young’s upcoming concept album, “The Monsanto Years,” which drops on June 30 and features Lukas and Micah Nelson, sons of country music legend Willie Nelson, as well as Lukas’ band, Promise of the Real.
Young and the band performed an acoustic version of the title track at an event in Hawaii over Memorial Day weekend.
The Farm Aid co-founder has accused Starbucks of teaming up with Monsanto to try to derail a first-in-the-nation law in Vermont set to take effect next year that would require the labeling of products with genetically modified ingredients.
“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,” Young wrote on his website last year. “Amazingly, it claims that the law is an assault on corporations’ right to free speech.”
Starbucks, which is an “affiliate member” of the GMA, has said it does not support the lawsuit and denies participating in it or aligning itself with Monsanto on the issue.
“Starbucks has not taken a position on the issue of GMO labeling,” the company said in a statement released online. “As a company with stores and a product presence in every state, we prefer a national solution.”
