Neil Young vows Starbucks boycott

NEW YORK: Rock icon Neil Young has pledged to stop drinking at Starbucks over an industry challenge to laws on genetically modified crops, but the coffee giant says the charges are false.
The Canadian songwriter and environmental activist urged his fans to put pressure on Starbucks over a lawsuit filed by an industry group against the US state of Vermont, the first state to pass a law requiring labels on genetically modified products.
Young accuses Starbucks of backing the industry group challenging the GMO law.
“I used to line up and get my latte every day, but yesterday was my last one,” Young recently wrote on his blog in a post titled “GOODBYE STARBUCKS!!!“
“Whatever you think of GMOs, corporations should not be using massive lawsuits to overturn legitimate, democratic decisions with strong public backing,” Young wrote.
Young was referring to a lawsuit filed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, an industry group that fought a similar ballot initiative in California.
The group in June announced a lawsuit against Vermont’s law on constitutional grounds, arguing that only the federal government had the role of “regulating nationwide distribution and labeling practices that facilitate interstate commerce.”