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Video Neil Young Takes on “Fascist Politicians and Chemical Giants Walking Arm in Arm”

Alex Constantine - May 31, 2015

Neil Young Unveils Starbucks-Mocking Music Video

Rocker takes aim at GMO giant, defends Vermont in first single off 'The Monsanto Years'

Neil Young and Promise of the Real have shared the full music video for "A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop," the first single off the rocker's new anti-GMO concept album The Monsanto Years. The video for the song, originally titled "Rock Starbucks" before it was changed to something more playful and less infringing, stars Young and his backing band, featuring Willie Nelson's sons Lukas and Micah, working on their new album and defiantly tossing Starbucks cups.

"From the fields of Nebraska to the banks of the Ohio / Farmers won't be free to grow what they want to grow / If corporate control takes over the American farm / With fascist politicians and chemical giants walking arm in arm," Young sings on the track, which takes aim at genetically modified organism (GMO) giant Monsanto. In November 2014, Young called for a boycott of Starbucks because of their connection to Monsanto.

In the song, Young also references Monsanto's lawsuit against Vermont after the state attempted to pass a GMO labeling law. While the coffee giant reportedly isn't a part of that lawsuit, Starbucks is a member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), a collective that lobbied against Vermont's GMO bill.

In May, the GMA announced they would appeal a "federal court ruling denying the organization's motion to halt implementation of Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law," which prompted Young to quip, "Still no latte's for me folks. I am not going to support a company that actively tries to defeat the will of the people by fighting their right to know what is in the food they eat."

In an effort to reward Vermont for their pioneering work in the fight against GMOs, Young will perform his first ever concert in the Green Mountain State was part of his upcoming Rebel Content tour. Young also recently made a surprise appearance at an anti-GMO rally in Hawaii. The Monsanto Years will arrive June 29th.

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