Music icons to fight corporate power at Farm Aid 30

Music icons including Willie Nelson and Neil Young will campaign against the power of agricultural companies and the rise of genetically modified food at the 30th anniversary of Farm Aid.

The musicians on Tuesday announced that the latest incarnation of Farm Aid, launched in 1985 to support struggling US farmers, would take place on September 19 in Chicago on Lake Michigan.

The 30th anniversary show will include the three stars who put together the original benefit concert -- 82-year-old country legend Willie Nelson, folk rocker and activist Neil Young and heartland rocker John Mellencamp.

Other artists on the lineup include blues pop star Dave Matthews, pop rockers Imagine Dragons and country singer Kacey Musgraves.

Keeping a tradition from recent editions of Farm Aid, the concert will sell organic food from family farms in the region and serve as a platform for activism.

Farm Aid has embraced an agenda of supporting small farmers and reducing the power of big agricultural companies.

"Industrial agriculture does not serve family farmers, our economies or public well-being. Instead, we continue to see the negative impacts of unchecked market power and the loss of family farmers from the land," Farm Aid's website says.

Farm Aid has also advocated transparent labeling of genetically modified food and assurances that small farmers will maintain access to seeds.

The House of Representatives last week passed a bill supported by food industry giants that would prevent states from requiring labels for genetically modified food.

Young has been outspoken against genetically modified food, especially on his latest album "The Monsanto Years."

The original Farm Aid came months after the massive Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia that raised relief for famine-struck Ethiopia.

Bob Dylan at Live Aid quipped that some of the money should go to farmers struggling to pay their mortgages.

His remarks triggered criticism, with Live Aid founder Bob Geldof saying that the woes of US farmers could not compare to Ethiopia's famine, but Nelson, Young and Mellencamp went ahead and organized a separate Farm Aid event.

The initial Farm Aid, held in Champaign, Illinois, featured Dylan and a host of other music legends including since-deceased Johnny Cash, B.B. King and Lou Reed.

Farm Aid in 1985 was also the site of the debut of Sammy Hagar as the lead singer of metal titans Van Halen after vocalist David Lee Roth left amid tensions.

Farm Aid, which has been held almost annually, says it has raised $48 million in support of family farmers.
Source: AFP