Agri-Food Film Series: "Black Gold" November 12, 2009

Black Gold (dir. Mark and Nick Francis, 2006, 78 min.) is an eye-opening expose of the multi-billion dollar industry which follows Tadesse Meskela, the manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union, on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price. As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice.

The Agri-foods reading group has organized a series of films on food throughout the 2009-10 academic year. Members of the group will facilitate a short (approx. 30 min.) discussion after each film.

Official Website: http://www.agrifoodumn.net/