Update:
On the weekend, legenday singer Neil Young had his last Starbucks latte.
Why? Because Neil Young is now boycotting Starbucks for being a member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association -- the body that is suing the U.S. state of Vermont. The exciting thing is that he's doing it because he saw our petition (see below!).
Neil Young's on board. We've already had over 320,000 SumOfUs members sign on. Now we need you to show Starbucks that we won't be ignored.
Will you join Neil Young and ask Starbucks to stand up for accurate food labeling?
Tell Starbucks that we have the right to know what's in our food. Add your voice now.
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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. Even a local Vermont company, Green Mountain Coffee, has joined in.
SumOfUs members have already chipped in to support Vermont's legal defense fund. Now, we need to undermine the Grocery Manufacturers Association's base. 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.
Sign the petition to tell Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee to withdraw their support for the lawsuit against Vermont, and stop fighting accurate food labeling.
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 -- we helped Vermont raise almost a quarter of a million dollars to defend themselves against Monsanto’s bullying! But the next strategic step is to pressure and call out members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the shadowy body leading the lawsuit.
Add your voice now. Tell Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee to stop supporting the lawsuit against Vermont.
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More information:
How Ben and Jerry's says goodbye to GMOs, Burlington Free Press, 16 June 2014
Food Companies Seek Federal GMO Label Standard, Challenge Washington's Campaign Finance Laws, Sustainable Brands, 15 January 2014
Goodbye Starbucks, Neil Young's website
Neil Young boycotts Starbucks over GMO lawsuit, Rolling Stone, 15 November 2014