Willie Nelson | Justice Through Music - Part 2

Tagged Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson Agrees to Help Neglected Horses

MAR 26, 2012 – Willie Nelson, longtime activist musician from Farm Aid to Occupy the Food System, has agreed to take care of 2 severely neglected and abused horses. One named "Whisper" was undernourished when rescued, and had kerosene burns when the bonehead ex-owner tried to cure a fungus. "Whisper", along with a mare called "Traveler", will go into the care of LEARN (Livestock and Equine Awareness and Rescue Network), a non-profit in South Carolina that has been a private animal rescue farm for more than 20 years; where they rescue and rehabilitate, and then find the animal a "forever home" where they can live their life out in peace. On their website LEARN says their mission is to "educate our youth, prospective owners, and owners concerning the proper care of animals.  We also support the local Animal Control departments with the care and housing of abused and neglected farm animals. We are dedicated to the management of reported neglect cases and work with law enforcement to insure the animals receive the care and feed needed for optimal health."

Eric Elkins of LEARN told SummervillePatch.com that "Whisper" has gained 25 pounds since arriving at the rescue farm, and his wounds are healing. Check out LEARN's website here. , and don't forget to thank Willie!  (Photo credit: LearnHorseRescue.com)

Willie Nelson and Occupy the Food System to Occupy Vacant Lots and Set Up Community Gardens

FEB 27, 2012 – Willie Nelson, along with author and Rainforest Action Network board member Anna Lappe, recently wrote an Op Ed and in it they laid out their reasons for why we have to occupy our food system. This is all part of Willie's campaign "Occupy the Food System" which we have been blogging about a lot recently. OTFS is an coalition of over 90 organizations and Occupy groups from around the world fighting uber-large corporate agri-businesses such as Monsanto who they feel are destroying our food system and making us unhealthy. They write, “Corporate control of our food system has led to the loss of millions of family farmers, the destruction of soil fertility, the pollution of our water, and health epidemics including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain forms of cancer. More and more, the choices that determine the food on our shelves are made by corporations concerned less with protecting our health, our environment, or our jobs than with profit margins and executive bonuses.” You can read the entire HuffPo Op Ed here.

Today they launch a campaign to occupy unused, vacant bank-owned lots and start community gardens and set up small seed exchanges in front of the Stock Exchange. They want to fight for “labeling products on grocery store shelves that contain genetically engineered ingredients" and build "community alliances to support locally owned grocery stores and resist Walmart megastores; and fighting back against industrial giants Monsanto and Cargill.” To take part and learn more, check out the Rainforest Action Network's website here.
 

Willie Nelson’s “Occupy Food System” Supports Small Farmers Filing Suit Against Monsanto

CORRECTION: Willie Nelson is NOT part of the lawsuit filed against Monsanto. We apologize for any confusion.

FEB 13, 2012 – 300,000 activists who support small family farms and a healthy and fair food system, sued food giant Monsanto in Federal Court in Manhattan on January 31, 2012. Musician activist Willie Nelson and his Occupy The Food System which consists of many small groups such as Food Democracy Now are not part of the suit but have voiced their support and rallied in support outside the federal courthouses for the farmers who are filing the suit. The suit seeks to protect the harassment and threatening manner agribusiness giant Monsanto has exhibited, with threatening to go after any small farms that contain any trace of what they claim to be their property, genetically modified seeds. All the activists are also fighting against Monsanto's spraying of "Roundup herbicides", which harm the soil, water and the farms around them. Willie states that the corporate takeover of small farms by large corporations has "led to the loss of millions of family farmers, destruction of our soil, pollution of our water and health epidemics of epic obesity and diabetes". Read more about the lawsuit on NationofChange.org here, and check out Occupy The Food System Facebook Page here.

Also, an ad aired on the Grammy's last night of Willie Nelson performing the haunting Coldplay classic, "The Scientists" (watch below) to help The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, an organization that is "Dedicated to creating a sustainable, healthful and equitable future". You can purchase the song on iTunes here, where proceeds will benefit the foundation and help them in their work to protect small family farms. Check out their website here.

Willie Nelson Plays For Dennis Kucinich

JAN 31, 2012 – Longtime musical activist Willie Nelson, who has been involved in FarmAid and now Occupy, traveled to northern Ohio to put on a show in support of embattled Ohio representative Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich, who has been a longtime supporter of progressive issues, now faces a Democratic primary against another progressive candidate, Marcy Kaptur. Both are now involved in a struggle to win the 9th district seat as a result of the census and the Ohio Appointment Board redrawing Ohio's 18 districts into 16. The Republican majority board voted to combine both Kucinich's and Kaptur's 2 districts into 1, thereby eliminating one of their seats.

Willie also cites Dennis' anti-war stance and his decriminalization of marijuana stance as why he supports Kucinich. Here is a post about it and watch a video from Morning Journal below.

Willie Nelson Joins and Supports Occupy Movement With Video Poem

OCT 24, 2011 – Willie Nelson and his wife Annie wrote a poem, and then made a video together and released it on the Internet in a show of solidarity with the Occupy movement that is sweeping the country. In the video Willie says he, "We stand with humanity, against the insanity." "We're the seeds, we're the core. We're the ones we've been waiting for," Annie says in the video. You can check it out below:

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