Free Screening of "BLACK GOLD: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" September 14, 2007

Come see a free screening of the hard-hitting documentary "Black Gold", a film by Marc and Nick Francis that has the global coffee industry on the defensive.

"Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man 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.

Against the backdrop of Tadesse's journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world's coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers."

After the screenings our special guest speaker
will be Tadesse Meskela, general manager of the
Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union in Ethiopia,
who is featured in the film.

Just Us! Cafe will also be giving away free cups of Fair Trade Ethiopian coffee during the event.

Just Us! Cafe locations:

490 Queen Street West - 416.862.CAFE (2233)
2010 Queen Street East - 416.693.CAFE (2233)

Official Website: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6468106759