Willie Nelson
BioWillie puts branded biodiesel on the map
A long-time advocate for family farmers, legendary country singer Willie Nelson revved up his career in activism in the mid ’80s, organizing a benefit concert that would eventually run for over 20 years. The country, blues and rock-fueled extravaganza known as Farm Aid (also a nonprofit organization) raises awareness about the importance of and loss of family farms in the United States. Money raised goes towards keeping family farmers on their land.
Nelson, who is on the board of directors and president of Farm Aid, sits with the likes of Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. To date the organization has raised almost $30 million. It has also championed the Good Food movement, which embraces family-farm identified, local food that is organic or humanely raised. A PSA taped by Nelson was offered to farmers’ markets to promote their events.
Willie Nelson’s biodiesel bus-iness
The eight-time Grammy winner, including Legend and Lifetime Achievement Awards, has toured so extensively he’s on his fourth tour bus, Honeysuckle Rose IV, which runs completely on biodiesel. That brings us to another of the less controversial causes Nelson is known for.
Willie became interested in biodiesel when his wife purchased a Volkswagen Jetta that ran on vegetable oil. He says at the time he had no idea what she was talking about, telling an interviewer he thought “she’d been in my stash a little bit.” Nelson now peddles his B20 biodiesel in several U.S. locations. BioWillie, as it’s known, is a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. It’s been found to have a positive environmental benefit with minimal cost increase. Willie says demand is there, but more product is needed to keep our highways smelling like French fries. Earth Biofuels, maker of BioWillie diesel, boasts a board of directors that includes Morgan Freeman and spokesperson Julia Roberts.
A bit more controversy
One of Nelson’s more personal causes is cannabis. He’s advisory board co-chair on the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a group dedicated to normalizing the use of cannabis. He’s even hosted a charity golf tournament for the group that appeared on the cover of High Times magazine.
Having himself and his fleet of vehicles powered on plant fuel must be working. Willie Nelson still finds the time for his own country music station on XM radio, Willie’s Place, live from Carl’s Corner, Texas - where his first BioWillie fueling station was born.
