Angela Weiss/Getty ImagesNot even those delicious holiday drinks can persuade Neil Young to enter a Starbucks these days!
The legendary rocker recently announced on his website that he is boycotting the coffee chain until further notice.
"I used to line up and get my latte everyday, but yesterday was my last one," Young wrote on Nov. 9. So what brought about this drastic change?
Young argues that the company is involved with a lawsuit against the state of Vermont's new requirements to label genetically modified ingredients. Last spring, the state passed a law that would make it mandatory for all food products minus dairy, meat, alcohol and food served in a restaurant to be labeled.
Shortly afterward, four food industry organizations filed a lawsuit against the state that challenged the law's constitutionality.
"Monsanto might not care what we think—but as a public-facing company, Starbucks does," Young shared. "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."
In Starbucks' defense, the company says they are not even a part of Monsanto's lawsuit to stop food labeling.
"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," the company said in a statement posted on their website. "Starbucks has not taken a position on the issue of GMO labeling. As a company with stores and a product presence in every state, we prefer a national solution."
So will Young be stopping in for some peppermint mocha or even Oprah Winfrey's Chai Tea anytime soon? Don't count on it.
"There's much more at stake here than just whether GMO foods will be labeled in a single U.S. state," Young explained. "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."