Food For Change

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FOOD FOR CHANGE looks at the current resurgence of food cooperatives in America and their unique historic place in the economic and political landscape. Born in the heartland, cooperatives are seen as the middle path between Wall Street and Socialism.

The film profiles several food co-ops that have revived neighborhoods and communities - right in the shadows of corporate agribusinesses and supermarket chains. It's an inspiring example of community-centered economies thriving in an age of globalization.

'If you want your students to understand relationships among the environment, food, economics, democracy, and government...then you want them to see this film. This is the rare, uplifting but honest film about history and possibilities; about how things are and how they might be. Today more than ever it is important for them to understand the role of politics and policy in their own lives and what they can do about it where they live.' E. Paul Durrenberger, Co-founder, The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Iowa and Penn State University

'Food for Change is about food coops as meaningful - and highly successful - alternatives to our country's current industrialized food system. It situates the cooperative movement in 20th century history and focuses on its role in social change by establishing deep roots in local communities. This film should inspire anyone interested in creating socially just, community supported, and economically viable enterprises.' Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University, Author, Food Politics

'Food for Change is just the kind of nourishment our minds and hearts need right now! The documentary explains key historical moments and trends, traces the multiple roots of the cooperative food movement, and illustrates how groups and communities are taking charge of their food futures. This is an indispensable resource for people who want to understand how a cooperative vision can guide one of the most important domains of the economy and our lives.' George Cheney, Professor of Communication, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Author, Values at Work

'Food for Change is an inspiring but also hard hitting and realistic historical look at the up and down road for Co-ops in the US. It does an excellent job of conveying the broad social, economic, and environmental potential of these entities and would be a tremendous introduction and training tool for Co-op members and leaders.' Dr. Alice Ammerman, Director, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Professor of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

'In a time when 'local,' 'organic,' and 'sustainable' are terms regularly used by large grocery chains to encourage an illusion of a food system customers want it is important that students know the critical - though often unnoticed - roles that co-ops have played for generations connecting consumers to farmers with democracy, honesty and transparency.' Dr. Sean Clark, Associate Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Director of Berea College Farm, Berea College

'Historic and contemporary footage, expert interviews, and archival stills offer a broader context for [the filmmaker's] comments, which position the co-op movement with a frame of democratic values that are being expressed through an economic enterprise...A fine documentary on a timely subject, this is highly recommended.' Video Librarian 3.5 stars

'This film is absolutely a well-researched, superbly compiled and masterfully delivered work...It is an inspiring and emotionally passionate fruit of labor and compassion. It begs for sharing, opens the door to involvement and solution.' George Nelson, Farmer, Sweetbay Produce and Nursery, Huger, SC

'I felt energized by the movie. I loved all of the historical background and couldn't help feel that what we're doing will be historic someday too. The movie made me believe that we can do anything!' Linda Balek, Steering Committee Member, Food Shed Co-op, Woodstock, IL (start-up co-op)

Citation

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Main credits

Alves, Steve (screenwriter)
Alves, Steve (film producer)
Alves, Steve (film director)
Alves, Steve (editor of moving image work)

Other credits

[Camera, Alan Dater [and 3 others]; music, Joe Podlesny].

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

history of food cooperatives, food co-op, history of food co-ops, co-op, alternative economic system, socialism, wall street, agribusiness, supermarkets,supermarket chains, chain stores, monopolies, food system, community-centered economies, the depression, economic recession, resurgence of co-ops, Massachusetts; "Food For Change"; Bullfrog Films

WEBVTT

00:00:10.166 --> 00:00:12.398
FROM TWO HUNDRED
MILES UP,

00:00:12.433 --> 00:00:16.365
THE PLACE I COME FROM, THE
ONE THAT CREATED ME,

00:00:16.400 --> 00:00:20.231
AND YOU, LOOKS PEACEFUL
AND FRAGILE.

00:00:23.166 --> 00:00:25.698
ON THE SURFACE, IT\'S
MAGNIFICENT,

00:00:25.733 --> 00:00:29.298
WILD, AND ABUNDANT,
EXPLODING WITH MILLIONS OF

00:00:29.333 --> 00:00:33.031
DIFFERENT LIFE FORMS, EACH
ONE EXQUISITELY ADAPTED TO

00:00:33.066 --> 00:00:37.198
ITS HABITAT...

00:00:37.233 --> 00:00:39.198
EVER-SPINNING AND CHANGING,

00:00:39.233 --> 00:00:41.198
WITH ITS
INHABITANTS COMPETING,

00:00:41.233 --> 00:00:44.065
AND COOPERATING.

00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:47.698
THEN THERE\'S US -- THE
ROGUE SPECIES,

00:00:47.733 --> 00:00:49.698
WITH OUR POWERFUL,
IMAGINATIVE,

00:00:49.733 --> 00:00:52.965
AND INTELLIGENT BRAINS,
CAUSING THE WHOLE

00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.831
ENTERPRISE TO BUCKLE UNDER
THE WEIGHT OF OUR ASCENT.

00:00:59.233 --> 00:01:01.731
SINCE WE LEFT OUR
FIRST HABITAT,

00:01:01.766 --> 00:01:06.731
SIXTY THOUSAND YEARS AGO,
WE\'VE MADE SOME CHANGES,

00:01:06.766 --> 00:01:10.265
MAKING NEW HABITATS THAT
SEPARATE US FROM THE LAND

00:01:10.300 --> 00:01:12.465
AND FROM EACH OTHER,

00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:15.898
WHILE OTHER LIFE-FORMS ARE
PUSHED TO EXTINCTION.

00:01:15.933 --> 00:01:18.098
EXCEPT, OF COURSE,
BEDBUGS,

00:01:18.133 --> 00:01:20.165
PIGEONS, AND STINKWEED.

00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:25.331
LIKE ORPHANS LEFT ON THE
EARTH\'S DOORSTEP AFTER A

00:01:25.366 --> 00:01:28.498
FIERCE STORM, WE KNOW
LITTLE ABOUT OURSELVES,

00:01:28.533 --> 00:01:31.265
OUR NATURES --
CREATING, AT TIMES,

00:01:31.300 --> 00:01:34.998
CONDITIONS OF
SUBLIME BEAUTY,

00:01:35.033 --> 00:01:37.298
AND AT TIMES, OF UNTOLD
SUFFERING.

00:01:41.033 --> 00:01:43.531
OUR GOOD BRAINS HAVE
EVOLUTIONARY FLAWS,

00:01:43.566 --> 00:01:46.931
WHICH CAN ONLY BE FIXED BY
OUR GOOD BRAINS.

00:01:46.966 --> 00:01:49.798
IT\'S A DILEMMA.

00:01:49.833 --> 00:01:51.798
WE NEED TO SETTLE DOWN
AND FIGURE OUT

00:01:51.833 --> 00:01:53.798
HOW TO LIVE HERE.

00:01:53.833 --> 00:01:55.798
THERE\'S NO OTHER CHOICE.

00:01:55.833 --> 00:01:58.198
THE NEAREST PLANET, VENUS,
IS EIGHT HUNDRED DEGREES

00:01:58.233 --> 00:02:01.665
FAHRENHEIT AND SMELLS
LIKE ROTTEN EGGS.

00:02:01.700 --> 00:02:04.865
NEXT CLOSEST IS MARS,
WHERE THERE\'S LESS ACTUAL

00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:07.265
WATER ON THE ENTIRE
PLANET THAN WE HAVE IN

00:02:07.300 --> 00:02:09.265
ONE STALK OF CELERY.

00:02:10.466 --> 00:02:13.465
WE CAN PROTECT OUR HOME
PLANET AS A PLACE OF

00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:16.631
ENDURING BEAUTY, AND
EXHILARATION,

00:02:16.666 --> 00:02:20.898
BY ADAPTING OUR NEEDS TO
OUR HABITAT.

00:02:20.933 --> 00:02:23.331
The only way in which I
think we are going to be

00:02:23.366 --> 00:02:26.631
able to create a planet
that has a future is we

00:02:26.666 --> 00:02:28.631
are going to have to have

00:02:28.666 --> 00:02:31.298
a much more
cooperative society.

00:02:31.333 --> 00:02:33.798
To build better
communities,

00:02:33.833 --> 00:02:36.631
and for the Earth to be
treated better,

00:02:36.666 --> 00:02:39.431
we\'re going to have to
change the structure of

00:02:39.466 --> 00:02:43.831
how we do business.

00:03:03.700 --> 00:03:06.298
A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN TO
CHANGE THE STUCTURE OF HOW

00:03:06.333 --> 00:03:09.231
WE DO BUSINESS IS TO
EXAMINE THE WAY WE GROW

00:03:09.266 --> 00:03:12.131
AND SELL FOOD -- AN
ACTIVITY THAT HAS CHANGED

00:03:12.166 --> 00:03:14.765
MORE IN THE PAST FIFTY
YEARS THAN IT HAS IN THE

00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:17.031
PAST TEN THOUSAND.

00:03:17.066 --> 00:03:20.965
THIS SYSTEM, NOW DOMINATED
BY LARGE CORPORATIONS,

00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.698
USES ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF
ENERGY AND TOXIC CHEMICALS

00:03:24.733 --> 00:03:28.198
WHILE CREATING AN ARRAY OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS.

00:03:28.233 --> 00:03:31.265
COMPANIES THAT EXPERIMENT
WITH THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF LIFE,

00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:35.031
WITH THE GOAL TO
CONTROL THE WORLD\'S FOOD SUPPLY,

00:03:35.066 --> 00:03:39.731
FROM THE GENE TO
THE GROCERY SHELF.

00:03:39.766 --> 00:03:43.265
PROMOTING A VARIETY OF
FOOD-LIKE SUBSTANCES ...

00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:45.265
FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

00:03:47.433 --> 00:03:50.331
THE SELLING OF FOOD IS
ALSO CONTROLLED BY FEWER

00:03:50.366 --> 00:03:53.465
AND FEWER LARGE
SUPERMARKET CHAINS.

00:03:53.500 --> 00:03:55.865
THIS SYSTEM IS DESIGNED
FOR EFFICIENCY,

00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:59.365
TO PRODUCE CHEAP FOOD AND
REAP ONE MAJOR PRODUCT:

00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:01.931
MAXIMUM PROFITS.

00:04:01.966 --> 00:04:04.131
You take the top ten

00:04:04.166 --> 00:04:06.165
retailers in the United States

00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:08.465
and they scoop up,
you know,

00:04:08.500 --> 00:04:12.531
some huge amount of the
food business.

00:04:12.566 --> 00:04:16.131
And those monopolies are
controlling all of the

00:04:16.166 --> 00:04:19.698
aspects of the
distribution system,

00:04:19.733 --> 00:04:21.698
to the detriment of all of
the farmers,

00:04:21.733 --> 00:04:23.865
the pollution.

00:04:23.900 --> 00:04:28.398
And that is all a system
that brings employment

00:04:28.433 --> 00:04:30.398
opportunities down, it
brings income

00:04:30.433 --> 00:04:32.865
opportunities down.

00:04:32.900 --> 00:04:37.831
It really stretches all
parts of our society.

00:04:37.866 --> 00:04:39.831
OUR INDUSTRIALIZED FOOD
SYSTEM,

00:04:39.866 --> 00:04:42.865
INTENDED TO PROMOTE
COMPETITION LOOKS MORE

00:04:42.900 --> 00:04:46.931
LIKE CENTRAL PLANNING --
WHICH IS THE REASON WE

00:04:46.966 --> 00:04:51.231
OPPOSED OTHER SYSTEMS, SO
THAT WOULDN\'T HAPPEN HERE.

00:04:57.233 --> 00:05:00.098
People have less in their
pockets than they used to.

00:05:00.133 --> 00:05:02.931
They have less savings for
the future.

00:05:02.966 --> 00:05:07.365
The future looks bleak for
the majority of Americans.

00:05:07.400 --> 00:05:09.865
As a result, we have a
race to the bottom,

00:05:09.900 --> 00:05:16.231
and what cooperatives are
is a means of raising

00:05:16.266 --> 00:05:18.231
everybody to the top.

00:05:18.266 --> 00:05:20.231
MOVING AWAY FROM A
MONOPOLY-CONTROLLED

00:05:20.266 --> 00:05:22.865
SYSTEM, TO ONE THAT
STRENGTHENS COMMUNITIES

00:05:22.900 --> 00:05:24.931
AND PROTECTS THE
ENVIRONMENT,

00:05:24.966 --> 00:05:27.865
IS THE REASON I JOINED A
FOOD COOPERATIVE.

00:05:27.900 --> 00:05:30.798
MY CO-OP, LOCATED ON MAIN
STREET IN GREENFIELD,

00:05:30.833 --> 00:05:34.065
MASSACHUSETTS, IS ONE OF
OVER THREE HUNDRED FOOD

00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.831
COOPERATIVES ACROSS
THE COUNTRY,

00:05:36.866 --> 00:05:39.798
EACH ONE OWNED BY PEOPLE
WHO WANT GOOD FOOD,

00:05:39.833 --> 00:05:42.231
AND WHO CARE ABOUT HOW
IT\'S GROWN AND THE PEOPLE

00:05:42.266 --> 00:05:44.965
WHO GROW IT.

00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:48.265
IT\'S DEMOCRACY IN ACTION --
AT THE LOCAL LEVEL,

00:05:48.300 --> 00:05:51.298
WHERE IT CAN HAVE A BIG
EFFECT -- WHICH MAKES ME

00:05:51.333 --> 00:05:53.798
WONDER WHY IT HASN\'T
CAUGHT ON MORE,

00:05:53.833 --> 00:05:56.565
AND HOW, DURING THE LAST
THREE DECADES,

00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:59.098
GIANT CORPORATE-OWNED
SUPERMARKETS MANAGED TO

00:05:59.133 --> 00:06:02.198
GAIN CONTROL OF OVER
EIGHTY PERCENT OF ALL U.S.

00:06:02.233 --> 00:06:05.198
FOOD SALES, WHILE THE
COOPERATIVE SHARE IS LESS

00:06:05.233 --> 00:06:08.431
THAN ONE-HALF OF ONE
PERCENT.

00:06:08.466 --> 00:06:11.198
TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER, I
HAD TO GO BACK IN TIME TO

00:06:11.233 --> 00:06:13.431
LEARN WHAT FORCES WERE AT

00:06:13.466 --> 00:06:15.431
WORK BEYOND WHAT
I WAS SEEING.

00:06:17.366 --> 00:06:20.165
THE FIRST THING I LEARNED
IS THAT CO-OPS BEGAN IN

00:06:20.200 --> 00:06:22.431
THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY.

00:06:22.466 --> 00:06:24.465
THEY WERE STARTED BY
ENGLISH WEAVERS WHO WERE

00:06:24.500 --> 00:06:26.465
FORCED INTO SERVILE
LABOR UNDER

00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:28.465
A NEW INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM.

00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:30.631
They were people who
said we want to be in

00:06:30.666 --> 00:06:35.165
control of the mechanism
whereby we feed ourselves.

00:06:35.200 --> 00:06:38.365
The idea of cooperation
will be better for us in

00:06:38.400 --> 00:06:41.831
the long run, and we will
not need charity if we\'re

00:06:41.866 --> 00:06:44.431
able to succeed in
self-help.

00:06:44.466 --> 00:06:46.965
THEY SAVED WHAT LITTLE
WAGES THEY EARNED AND

00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.865
OPENED THE FIRST FOOD
COOPERATIVE,

00:06:49.900 --> 00:06:54.231
SELLING FLOUR, OATMEAL,
AND CANDLES.

00:06:54.266 --> 00:06:56.798
THEIR IDEA OF OPEN
MEMBERSHIP AND SELLING

00:06:56.833 --> 00:06:59.465
WHOLESOME FOOD IS THE
LEGACY WE FOLLOW

00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:01.531
170 YEARS LATER.

00:07:03.633 --> 00:07:06.198
BY GOING BACK, I HOPED TO
LEARN THE DIFFERENCES

00:07:06.233 --> 00:07:09.531
BETWEEN COMPETITIVE AND
COOPERATIVE SYSTEMS.

00:07:09.566 --> 00:07:12.431
BUSINESSES THAT WANT TO
DOMINATE IN CONTRAST TO

00:07:12.466 --> 00:07:15.865
THOSE THAT SEEK
TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS.

00:07:15.900 --> 00:07:17.931
THIS IS THE KIND OF
BUSINESS THE FOLKS WHO

00:07:17.966 --> 00:07:20.065
STARTED MY CO-OP WANTED.

00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:22.065
AND A PLACE TO BUY
TOFU TURKEY.

00:07:26.300 --> 00:07:28.531
BUT IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND
THE CHALLENGES OF

00:07:28.566 --> 00:07:31.831
DEVELOPING A SOCIETY BASED
ON COOPERATION,

00:07:31.866 --> 00:07:33.931
I HAD TO MOVE AWAY FROM
MAIN STREET,

00:07:33.966 --> 00:07:41.631
TO A DIFFERENT ERA AND
ANOTHER AMERICAN STREET...

00:07:41.666 --> 00:07:44.531
TO A TIME WHEN ONE PERCENT
OF THE POPULATION OWNS

00:07:44.566 --> 00:07:46.498
FORTY PERCENT OF THE
NATION\'S WEALTH.

00:07:50.366 --> 00:07:52.865
TWO HUNDRED CORPORATIONS
CONTROL HALF OF ALL

00:07:52.900 --> 00:07:54.865
AMERICAN INDUSTRIES.

00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:01.798
LEADERS TOUT THE VIRTUES
OF INDIVIDUALISM AND FREE

00:08:01.833 --> 00:08:04.731
ENTERPRISE, WHILE THE VAST
MAJORITY HAVE FEW

00:08:04.766 --> 00:08:06.731
OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE
THEIR LIVES.

00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:12.631
RECKLESS, UNREGULATED
CREDIT SCHEMES CREATE A

00:08:12.666 --> 00:08:14.631
MOUNTAIN OF DEBT.

00:08:15.733 --> 00:08:19.331
INFLATION SOARS, CONSUMER
SPENDING PLUMMETS,

00:08:19.366 --> 00:08:21.298
AND THE BUBBLE BURSTS.

00:08:25.200 --> 00:08:28.465
For me what\'s at stake
with the co-ops is

00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:32.198
ultimately about a new way
of organizing society.

00:08:32.233 --> 00:08:35.931
Our economic system is set
up in such a way that

00:08:35.966 --> 00:08:37.965
really is unjust.

00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:40.665
And without other
explanation,

00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:44.398
it just really isn\'t,
a just society because it

00:08:44.433 --> 00:08:47.231
really favors the
concentration of wealth.

00:08:47.266 --> 00:08:49.498
It really hearkens back to
the founders of our own

00:08:49.533 --> 00:08:52.098
co-op: wanting to create
an alternative economic

00:08:52.133 --> 00:08:54.998
system was one of the
driving factors of what

00:08:55.033 --> 00:08:57.265
they were doing forty
years ago.

00:08:57.300 --> 00:09:00.298
We may not look like what
they envisioned,

00:09:00.333 --> 00:09:02.798
\'cause we changed to stay
in business,

00:09:02.833 --> 00:09:06.498
but what drives my
motivation is that we\'re

00:09:06.533 --> 00:09:09.631
building a society
that has

00:09:09.666 --> 00:09:11.698
the goal of no
exploitation in it.

00:09:11.733 --> 00:09:13.698
And that\'s really,
I think, at the root

00:09:13.733 --> 00:09:15.931
of what the co-op
business model is. It\'s really

00:09:15.966 --> 00:09:19.298
taking democracy
and bringing it

00:09:19.333 --> 00:09:21.298
into an economic
environment.

00:09:24.233 --> 00:09:27.398
FOLLOWING THE STOCK MARKET
CRASH OF 1929,

00:09:27.433 --> 00:09:30.298
PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER
ASSURES THE NATION THAT A

00:09:30.333 --> 00:09:32.798
MINOR QUIRK HAS OCCURRED
IN AN OTHERWISE SOUND

00:09:32.833 --> 00:09:34.798
ECONOMIC SYSTEM.

00:09:34.833 --> 00:09:37.665
HIS CLAIM THAT A RETURN TO
PROSPERITY IS JUST AROUND

00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:41.831
THE CORNER IS A STARK
CONTRAST TO REALITY.

00:09:41.866 --> 00:09:44.965
AS HARD TIMES SPREAD, AN
INCREASING NUMBER HOLD BUT

00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:47.965
ONE LIMITED ASPIRATION:
SURVIVAL.

00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.765
It\'s impossible for me to
get a job anywhere.

00:09:50.800 --> 00:09:52.765
Nobody will hire me.

00:09:52.800 --> 00:09:56.798
Any help that I have at
all is two dollars a week

00:09:56.833 --> 00:09:58.798
on federal relief.

00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:13.365
THE DEPRESSION TAKES AWAY
PEOPLE\'S LIVELIHOODS,

00:10:13.400 --> 00:10:15.365
AND WITH THEM, THEIR
DIGNITY AND

00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:18.131
SENSE OF SELF-WORTH.

00:10:18.166 --> 00:10:21.898
BY 1933, 13 MILLION
AMERICANS HAD LOST THEIR

00:10:21.933 --> 00:10:26.198
JOBS, 10,000 BANKS
HAD FAILED.

00:10:26.233 --> 00:10:29.465
TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE
POPULATION IS UNEMPLOYED,

00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:31.465
WHILE ANOTHER
TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT,

00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:33.865
THOUGH COUNTING THEMSELVES
LUCKY TO HAVE WORK,

00:10:33.900 --> 00:10:35.831
SUFFERED SEVERE
CUTS IN WAGES.

00:10:39.033 --> 00:10:41.331
PEOPLE WHO HAD LIVED
PRODUCTIVE LIVES FIND

00:10:41.366 --> 00:10:43.331
THEMSELVES AND THEIR
FAMILIES LIVING

00:10:43.366 --> 00:10:45.665
HAND-TO-MOUTH, OR WORSE,
TOSSED TO THE STREETS TO

00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:47.665
BEG FOR FOOD.

00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:49.665
The poor unfortunates like
myself are on

00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:54.198
State Street, begging for
a bowl of soup

00:10:54.233 --> 00:10:56.931
and for a sandwich.
We haven\'t got no work.

00:10:56.966 --> 00:10:58.931
We can\'t get no work.
We\'re looking for work.

00:10:58.966 --> 00:11:01.931
We can\'t get no work.

00:11:01.966 --> 00:11:06.931
But we will by some day
in the future.

00:11:06.966 --> 00:11:10.631
AS WINTER DESCENDS ON
CHICAGO IN 1932,

00:11:10.666 --> 00:11:13.898
HUNGRY, COLD AND JOBLESS
CITIZENS TEAR UP THE

00:11:13.933 --> 00:11:16.965
WOOD-PAVED STREETS IN A
DESPERATE ATTEMPT

00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:18.965
TO HEAT THEIR HOMES.

00:11:22.533 --> 00:11:25.631
FOR THOSE WHO DO WORK, LOW
WAGES BRING MOUNTING

00:11:25.666 --> 00:11:27.998
CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN
MANAGEMENT AND LABOR.

00:11:32.266 --> 00:11:35.565
WITHIN A THREE-YEAR SPAN,
TEN THOUSAND STRIKES ERUPT

00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:37.665
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:39.565
[gun shot]

00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:42.465
HIRED COMPANY AGENTS WORK
WITH THE POLICE TO

00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:44.465
OVERPOWER PROTESTERS.

00:11:45.400 --> 00:11:49.231
[gun fire]

00:11:49.266 --> 00:11:52.198
RESPONDING TO THE URGENCY
OF THE SITUATION,

00:11:52.233 --> 00:11:54.531
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
STARTS WORK PROGRAMS.

00:11:54.566 --> 00:11:57.898
This is no unsolvable
problem if we face it

00:11:57.933 --> 00:12:00.365
wisely and courageously.

00:12:00.400 --> 00:12:02.798
It can be
accomplished, in part,

00:12:02.833 --> 00:12:06.498
by direct recruiting by
the government itself.

00:12:06.533 --> 00:12:11.298
Our greatest primary task
is to put people to work.

00:12:11.333 --> 00:12:13.931
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN
ROOSEVELT\'S WORKS PROGRESS

00:12:13.966 --> 00:12:16.131
ADMINISTRATION BUILDS
RAILROADS,

00:12:16.166 --> 00:12:19.098
PARKS, AND OTHER
PUBLIC FACILITIES.

00:12:19.133 --> 00:12:22.531
BUT RECOVERY IS SLOW AND
HAS NUMEROUS CRITICS.

00:12:22.566 --> 00:12:24.665
The cost of the New Deal

00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:28.031
threatens to exceed that
of the Great War.

00:12:28.066 --> 00:12:30.265
The folly and waste must
be cut out of this

00:12:30.300 --> 00:12:33.098
expenditure and the
federal government budget

00:12:33.133 --> 00:12:36.231
balanced or we shall see
one of three horsemen

00:12:36.266 --> 00:12:38.965
ravage this land:
taxation,

00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.398
or repudiation, or
inflation.

00:12:42.433 --> 00:12:46.098
WORK PROGRAMS ARE CUT,
DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

00:12:46.133 --> 00:12:48.065
BY THE SUPREME COURT.

00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:50.865
UNEMPLOYMENT REMAINS
STUBBORNLY HIGH,

00:12:50.900 --> 00:12:53.031
AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION
CONTINUES.

00:12:55.733 --> 00:12:59.798
♪[Folk music:]
\"Come all
you good time people...\"

00:12:59.833 --> 00:13:02.265
WHILE DISCORD RIPPLES
ACROSS THE COUNTRYSIDE,

00:13:02.300 --> 00:13:06.365
A MOVEMENT SWELLS WITHOUT
FANFARE IN THE MIDWEST.

00:13:06.400 --> 00:13:09.398
PEOPLE HIT BY HARD TIMES
COME TOGETHER TO SHARE

00:13:09.433 --> 00:13:11.931
THEIR PROBLEMS, THEN
DECIDE TO TAKE MATTERS

00:13:11.966 --> 00:13:13.931
INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.

00:13:13.966 --> 00:13:16.331
FOR THEM, THE SOLUTION IS
IN A SYSTEM THAT

00:13:16.366 --> 00:13:19.465
EMPHASIZES COOPERATION
INSTEAD OF COMPETITION --

00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:21.431
THROUGH
DEMOCRATICALLY-RUN,

00:13:21.466 --> 00:13:25.265
COLLECTIVELY-OWNED,
INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES.

00:13:25.300 --> 00:13:27.865
CONVINCED OF THE SIMPLE,
PRACTICAL WISDOM OF THEIR

00:13:27.900 --> 00:13:32.465
APPROACH, THEY LABOR FOR
OVER A DECADE TO MAKE IT WORK,

00:13:32.500 --> 00:13:34.831
THEN SET OUT TO TELL
THEIR FELLOW AMERICANS

00:13:34.866 --> 00:13:36.831
WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED.

00:13:40.266 --> 00:13:43.665
THE MIDDLE PATH BETWEEN
CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM

00:13:43.700 --> 00:13:46.298
IS THE WAY OUT OF
THE DEPRESSION.

00:13:46.333 --> 00:13:48.398
COOPERATIVE ECONOMIES,
THEY BELIEVE,

00:13:48.433 --> 00:13:50.898
PROMISE A MORE
STABLE FUTURE,

00:13:50.933 --> 00:13:53.165
LED BY CONSUMERS AND
STRENGTHENED

00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:55.598
WITH EACH PURCHASE.

00:13:56.900 --> 00:14:00.798
BY 1938, 15 REGIONAL
WAREHOUSES ARE SUPPLYING

00:14:00.833 --> 00:14:02.965
HUNDREDS OF CO-OP
GROCERY STORES.

00:14:05.633 --> 00:14:07.765
WITHIN THE CO-OP
SYSTEM, FARMERS,

00:14:07.800 --> 00:14:10.865
FREE FROM THE CONTROL OF
LARGE CORPORATIONS,

00:14:10.900 --> 00:14:14.498
BEGIN TO GET A FAIR PRICE
FOR THEIR LABOR.

00:14:14.533 --> 00:14:17.331
AS THEIR POWER INCREASES,
THEY BRANCH OUT INTO

00:14:17.366 --> 00:14:19.331
MANUFACTURING THEIR
OWN EQUIPMENT.

00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:24.498
IN COLUMBUS, OHIO,
COOPERATORS START THEIR

00:14:24.533 --> 00:14:27.331
OWN DEPARTMENT STORE,
WHICH GROWS TO EIGHT

00:14:27.366 --> 00:14:29.331
REGIONAL STORES.

00:14:29.366 --> 00:14:31.998
INVESTORS IN THESE
BUSINESSES COME NOT FROM

00:14:32.033 --> 00:14:34.865
WALL STREET, BUT FROM THE
CONSUMERS\' COOPERATIVE

00:14:34.900 --> 00:14:40.331
ASSOCIATION, WITH 125,000
MEMBERS IN NINE STATES.

00:14:40.366 --> 00:14:43.031
THROUGH THESE EFFORTS,
CO-OPS SEE A 17 PERCENT

00:14:43.066 --> 00:14:45.231
INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT.

00:14:45.266 --> 00:14:48.165
THIS NEW METHOD OF WEALTH
CREATION BEGINS TO GROW

00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:50.965
EXPONENTIALLY, AS PEOPLE
WHO WORK IN CO-OP

00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.465
BUSINESSES DEPOSIT
THEIR CHECKS IN

00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:57.531
COOPERATIVELY-RUN BANKS,
WHICH IN TURN INVEST IN

00:14:57.566 --> 00:15:00.731
COOPERATIVELY-RUN
BUSINESSES.

00:15:00.766 --> 00:15:04.365
MOST IMPRESSIVE OF ALL ARE
CO-OPS\' EFFORTS TO DISRUPT

00:15:04.400 --> 00:15:06.865
BIG BUSINESS MONOPOLIES
BY DRILLING,

00:15:06.900 --> 00:15:11.231
PUMPING AND REFINING THEIR
OWN OIL -- SELLING GASOLINE

00:15:11.266 --> 00:15:15.298
IN OVER 2000 SERVICE
STATIONS IN NINE STATES.

00:15:15.333 --> 00:15:17.765
AS THE CO-OP MODEL
PROVES EFFECTIVE,

00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:19.765
THERE SEEMS TO BE NO LIMIT
ON ITS CHALLENGE TO

00:15:19.800 --> 00:15:21.765
CORPORATE CONTROL.

00:15:21.800 --> 00:15:25.865
A large number of consumer
cooperatives were

00:15:25.900 --> 00:15:29.365
established in the 1930s
all across the country,

00:15:29.400 --> 00:15:31.631
by people who had
something that they felt

00:15:31.666 --> 00:15:33.631
they could achieve.

00:15:33.666 --> 00:15:35.865
There was something that
they could create.

00:15:35.900 --> 00:15:37.965
There was something that
they could build.

00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.465
And they didn\'t wanna give
up hope;

00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:42.598
they wanted to make that
hope come alive.

00:15:42.633 --> 00:15:44.698
And it came alive
in the many,

00:15:44.733 --> 00:15:52.065
many thousands of
cooperatives that were created.

00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:55.065
CO-OP LEADERS SEE THE SUN
RISING ON A NEW SPIRIT OF

00:15:55.100 --> 00:15:57.931
AMERICAN COOPERATION,
WHICH THEY TOUT AS THE

00:15:57.966 --> 00:16:01.131
DEMOCRATIC ALTERNATIVE
TO CAPITALISM,

00:16:01.166 --> 00:16:03.698
LEADING THE WAY TO A
MORALLY-BASED ECONOMIC

00:16:03.733 --> 00:16:06.931
SYSTEM THAT IS
OPEN TO EVERYONE,

00:16:06.966 --> 00:16:11.465
PRINCIPLED, AND FAIR --
A CLEAR STEP FORWARD FROM

00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:15.531
THE MISERIES BROUGHT ON
BY HUMAN EXPLOITATION.

00:16:15.566 --> 00:16:17.531
AFTER A DECADE OF
HARD TIMES,

00:16:17.566 --> 00:16:20.931
THIS PEACEFUL SOCIAL AND
ECONOMIC MOVEMENT IS

00:16:20.966 --> 00:16:24.098
HEADING TOWARD A FUTURE OF
SHARED PROSPERITY --

00:16:24.133 --> 00:16:26.465
A COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH

00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:31.365
WHOSE TIME HAS
FINALLY ARRIVED...

00:16:31.400 --> 00:16:33.598
BUT THEN IS
ABRUPTLY HALTED.

00:16:40.033 --> 00:16:42.231
THE ATTACK ON
PEARL HARBOR ALTERS

00:16:42.266 --> 00:16:44.331
THE PATH OF CO-OP DEVELOPMENT.

00:16:44.366 --> 00:16:46.331
[air raid sirens]

00:16:46.366 --> 00:16:48.331
COOPERATIVE IDEALS TAKE A

00:16:48.366 --> 00:16:50.331
BACK SEAT TO MORE
PRESSING NEEDS.

00:16:50.366 --> 00:16:52.365
Training to develop
muscles,

00:16:52.400 --> 00:16:54.865
to toughen and harden men
for any job assigned.

00:16:54.900 --> 00:16:56.865
Training that teaches
quick thinking,

00:16:56.900 --> 00:16:59.598
speed, balance, and
timing.

00:16:59.633 --> 00:17:03.998
ON THE HOME FRONT,
ONCE-DORMANT FACTORIES NOW

00:17:04.033 --> 00:17:06.598
RUN AROUND THE CLOCK,
FUELED BY A MASSIVE

00:17:06.633 --> 00:17:08.898
INCREASE IN
GOVERNMENT SPENDING.

00:17:08.933 --> 00:17:11.231
THE GREAT DEPRESSION ENDS.

00:17:11.266 --> 00:17:13.565
ANYONE THAT WANTS A JOB
HAS ONE,

00:17:13.600 --> 00:17:16.931
MAKING BOMBS, GUNS, AND
RELATED WEAPONS.

00:17:16.966 --> 00:17:19.198
The battlefields of
America

00:17:19.233 --> 00:17:21.465
are the production lines.

00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:25.131
The sweat and muscle and
brains of men and women

00:17:25.166 --> 00:17:27.131
pounding out the
tools of victory.

00:17:27.166 --> 00:17:29.131
Slugging out more
and more and more.

00:17:29.166 --> 00:17:32.665
All of the effort that
went into the war

00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:36.098
immensely weakened all of
the effort that was going

00:17:36.133 --> 00:17:38.698
on in cooperatives.

00:17:38.733 --> 00:17:41.431
The various efforts that
people were doing at the

00:17:41.466 --> 00:17:43.798
local level, building a
better society,

00:17:43.833 --> 00:17:51.298
went out of the window.

00:17:51.333 --> 00:17:53.665
WITH FORTY PERCENT OF THE
NATION\'S PRODUCTIVE

00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:57.631
CAPACITY ALLOCATED TO WAR,
CORPORATE LOBBYISTS HEAD

00:17:57.666 --> 00:18:01.498
TO WASHINGTON TO OBTAIN
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.

00:18:01.533 --> 00:18:04.598
SOON THEY ATTAIN SEVENTY
PERCENT OF ALL WAR-RELATED

00:18:04.633 --> 00:18:07.098
MANUFACTURING, UP FROM
ONLY THIRTY PERCENT

00:18:07.133 --> 00:18:09.098
TWO YEARS EARLIER.

00:18:09.133 --> 00:18:11.131
SENATOR HARRY S. TRUMAN,

00:18:11.166 --> 00:18:13.131
AS HEAD OF THE
SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO

00:18:13.166 --> 00:18:15.331
INVESTIGATE THE NATIONAL
DEFENSE PROGRAM,

00:18:15.366 --> 00:18:18.198
WARNED THAT THE EMERGENCY
OF WAR HAS CREATED THE

00:18:18.233 --> 00:18:20.198
BIGGEST BUSINESS
MONOPOLIES IN THE HISTORY

00:18:20.233 --> 00:18:22.165
OF THE WORLD.

00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:24.965
SMALLER COMPANIES ARE
DRIVEN OUT OF BUSINESS AS

00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.398
THE COUNTRY IS AGAIN ON A
COURSE OF MAJOR INDUSTRIES

00:18:28.433 --> 00:18:31.565
CONTROLLED BY A FEW
LARGE CORPORATIONS.

00:18:31.600 --> 00:18:34.165
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,
HAROLD ICKES,

00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:36.398
GIVES A DIRE WARNING TO
THE RURAL ELECTRIC

00:18:36.433 --> 00:18:38.398
COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION:

00:18:38.433 --> 00:18:40.398
If the ultimate result of

00:18:40.433 --> 00:18:43.065
our enormous sacrifices of
this war shall be to

00:18:43.100 --> 00:18:45.065
solidify the hold
of the monopolists

00:18:45.100 --> 00:18:47.065
upon this country ...

00:18:47.100 --> 00:18:49.765
if these are the things we
are sweating for...

00:18:49.800 --> 00:18:51.765
and shedding our blood
for,

00:18:51.800 --> 00:18:54.098
then my advice to you
would be to seek an

00:18:54.133 --> 00:18:56.698
immediate peace
with the enemy...

00:18:56.733 --> 00:18:59.331
there is no difference
ultimately between an

00:18:59.366 --> 00:19:03.365
economy dictated by
fascism and one imposed by

00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:05.365
concentrated wealth.

00:19:10.733 --> 00:19:13.465
FARMS, ALSO, CONSOLIDATE,
AS FARMERS LEAVE THE

00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:15.465
FIELDS TO FIGHT ON THE
FRONT LINES OR

00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:17.465
WORK IN THE FACTORIES.

00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:21.298
FARMS GROW LARGER IN SIZE
AND FEWER IN NUMBER.

00:19:21.333 --> 00:19:23.665
CHEMICAL COMPANIES, WITH
BACKING FROM GOVERNMENT

00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:27.031
AGENCIES, PRESS GROWERS TO
USE INADEQUATELY-TESTED

00:19:27.066 --> 00:19:30.831
PESTICIDES, HERBICIDES,
AND CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS

00:19:30.866 --> 00:19:33.998
TO INCREASE YIELDS.

00:19:34.033 --> 00:19:36.265
OTHER SCIENTIFIC
BREAKTHROUGHS CHANGED THE

00:19:36.300 --> 00:19:39.765
FACE OF WARFARE WHILE
CONTINUING AN AGE-OLD

00:19:39.800 --> 00:19:41.765
PATTERN OF THE HUMAN
CONDITION.

00:20:11.633 --> 00:20:14.765
♪ [1950s Music:]

00:20:14.800 --> 00:20:18.831
AMERICANS AWAKE TO A NEW
CHAPTER IN HUMAN HISTORY.

00:20:18.866 --> 00:20:20.831
KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHAIN
REACTION THAT POWERS THE

00:20:20.866 --> 00:20:25.565
SUN IS NOW AVAILABLE TO
ANNIHILATE LIFE ON EARTH.

00:20:25.600 --> 00:20:28.798
♪ [1950s Music:
\"Crying in the Chapel\"...]

00:20:28.833 --> 00:20:33.198
NO ONE IS SAFE.

00:20:33.233 --> 00:20:35.465
AND THERE IS NO ESCAPE
FROM ANOTHER POWERFUL NEW

00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:37.898
FORCE: MODERN ADVERTISING.

00:20:37.933 --> 00:20:40.898
[1950s Radio Ad:]
Andhere\'s real
money-saving news !

00:20:40.933 --> 00:20:42.898
You\'re suddenly shapelier...

00:20:42.933 --> 00:20:45.765
[Radio jingle]

00:20:45.800 --> 00:20:48.598
AFTER THE WAR ENDS,

00:20:48.633 --> 00:20:51.165
CORPORATE RETAILERS LAUNCH
THE LARGEST ADVERTISING

00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:53.498
CAMPAIGN IN THE HISTORY OF
CIVILIZATION.

00:20:53.533 --> 00:20:55.865
[1950s Radio Ad:]
Now,try this new way to
accent your figure.. .

00:20:55.900 --> 00:20:58.098
AMERICANS
ARE HEADED DOWN A

00:20:58.133 --> 00:21:01.431
FRESH-PAVED HIGHWAY TO A
STRANGE NEW DESTINATION,

00:21:01.466 --> 00:21:05.298
IN THE PROCESS DISCOUNTING
THEIR ROLES AS CITIZENS OF

00:21:05.333 --> 00:21:07.798
LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR
THEIR NEW ROLE AS

00:21:07.833 --> 00:21:09.865
CONSUMERS IN A MASS
MARKET.

00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:11.765
[1950s Radio Ad:] Remember,
this is a limited offer.. .

00:21:11.800 --> 00:21:15.631
So rich,
so creamy.

00:21:15.666 --> 00:21:17.865
♪[1950s music:]
\"Takeyour trouble s

00:21:17.900 --> 00:21:20.198
♪to the chapel,

00:21:20.233 --> 00:21:26.131
♪get down on your knees
and pray...\"♪

00:21:26.166 --> 00:21:28.665
[1950s Radio Ads:]
Creamy leather!

00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:31.265
Dreamy body!

00:21:31.300 --> 00:21:34.565
...Choose lemon, lime, or
mint. Delicious!

00:21:37.466 --> 00:21:43.165
♪[1950s music:]
\"You burdens will be

00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:49.165
♪♪lighter, and you\'ll surely
find the way.\"♪

00:21:53.433 --> 00:21:56.865
THE DREAM WORLD OF UTOPIAN
CONSUMERISM SURPASSES

00:21:56.900 --> 00:22:00.098
CO-OP IDEALISM FOR A
BETTER SOCIETY.

00:22:00.133 --> 00:22:03.198
THE COOPERATIVE APPROACH
OF ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT TO

00:22:03.233 --> 00:22:06.865
ADDRESS LOCAL NEEDS SEEMS
OF A BYGONE ERA.

00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:12.531
During the 1950s,
cooperatives were not as

00:22:12.566 --> 00:22:15.365
attractive to the user as
the changes in the

00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:18.365
marketplace happened.

00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:21.831
Most cooperatives were in
the centers of the cities,

00:22:21.866 --> 00:22:25.998
and the population
out-migrated.

00:22:26.033 --> 00:22:27.998
The chain stores
came along,

00:22:28.033 --> 00:22:29.998
and they did a lot of
advertising.

00:22:30.033 --> 00:22:34.498
The whole focus was on the
single-family home,

00:22:34.533 --> 00:22:37.098
and the tract outside of
the center of town,

00:22:37.133 --> 00:22:39.998
and the car, and the
individualism,

00:22:40.033 --> 00:22:42.865
and the whole
advertising gamut,

00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:45.331
created this kind
of individual.

00:22:45.366 --> 00:22:47.331
It was an era in which
interest in consumer

00:22:47.366 --> 00:22:49.298
cooperatives in
particular,

00:22:49.333 --> 00:22:51.298
was reduced.

00:22:51.333 --> 00:22:53.365
And the cooperatives
themselves,

00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.365
there were less of them.

00:22:56.833 --> 00:22:59.165
AS LARGE CORPORATIONS GROW
EVEN LARGER,

00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:01.131
APPEALING TO THE MASS
MARKET,

00:23:01.166 --> 00:23:03.565
THEY DEVELOP
SOPHISTICATED TACTICS,

00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:05.698
HIRING ACTORS TO SERVE AS
PITCHMEN FOR THEIR

00:23:05.733 --> 00:23:07.698
CONSUMER PRODUCTS.

00:23:07.733 --> 00:23:10.265
Well, that\'s part of
living better electrically.

00:23:10.300 --> 00:23:13.565
THEY ALSO BREAK NEW GROUND
WHEN GENERAL ELECTRIC CEO

00:23:13.600 --> 00:23:15.998
CHARLES WILSON IS
APPOINTED HEAD OF THE

00:23:16.033 --> 00:23:18.365
OFFICE OF DEFENSE
MOBILIZATION.

00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:20.531
WILSON ADVOCATES FOR A
PERMANENT WARTIME ECONOMY,

00:23:20.566 --> 00:23:22.765
WHICH HE CLAIMS
IS NEEDED TO

00:23:22.800 --> 00:23:25.231
WARD OFF ANOTHER DEPRESSION.

00:23:25.266 --> 00:23:28.265
REAL AND IMAGINED THREATS
ARE PROMOTED BY DEFENSE

00:23:28.300 --> 00:23:30.331
DEPARTMENT-SPONSORED FILMS,

00:23:30.366 --> 00:23:34.431
WARNING OF A NEW MENACE,
JUSTIFYING A PERPETUAL

00:23:34.466 --> 00:23:36.498
INCREASE IN MILITARY
SPENDING.

00:23:36.533 --> 00:23:39.598
Read all about it!

00:23:39.633 --> 00:23:43.398
Get your latest
edition here!

00:23:43.433 --> 00:23:45.398
Who elected you to run
this community?

00:23:45.433 --> 00:23:47.431
By what right do you tell
us what to believe in and

00:23:47.466 --> 00:23:49.431
where to live?
And what to read?

00:23:49.466 --> 00:23:51.431
We\'re Americans.
And we believe in the
freedom of the individual

00:23:51.466 --> 00:23:53.865
to make up his mind for
himself. It\'s not the state

00:23:53.900 --> 00:23:55.965
that comes first,
it\'s the people in it.

00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:57.965
And if you don\'t recognize
the rights of the people,

00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.298
you don\'t belong here.
Take your hands off me!

00:24:00.333 --> 00:24:04.165
Let go! Let me go!
Let me go!

00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:07.098
People who were organizing
cooperatives during that

00:24:07.133 --> 00:24:09.965
period were always accused
of being communist;

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:13.631
even though there are very
few links between

00:24:13.666 --> 00:24:15.665
cooperatives and the
Communist Party,

00:24:15.700 --> 00:24:18.931
they were exploited by the
enemies of cooperatives,

00:24:18.966 --> 00:24:21.965
And I think that it
depressed a lot of

00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:23.965
interest that would
normally have come into

00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:26.265
cooperatives during that
era because people did not

00:24:26.300 --> 00:24:29.798
want to be accused of
being a communist.

00:24:29.833 --> 00:24:32.831
CONSUMER AND MILITARY
SPENDING BECOME THE TWIN

00:24:32.866 --> 00:24:37.398
ENGINES THAT POWER
THE U.S. ECONOMY.

00:24:37.433 --> 00:24:39.898
SOON AFTER WORLD
WAR II ENDS,

00:24:39.933 --> 00:24:42.665
MORE THAN HALF OF THE
FEDERAL BUDGET WOULD GO

00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:44.665
TOWARD CURRENT AND
FUTURE WARS.

00:24:46.733 --> 00:24:49.331
UNDER THE CLOUD OF COLD
WAR PARANOIA,

00:24:49.366 --> 00:24:51.565
CO-OPS ARE ATTACKED
BY BIG BUSINESS AS

00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:54.265
UN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS.

00:24:54.300 --> 00:24:57.231
SETTING UP A FRONT CALLED
THE NATIONAL TAX EQUALITY

00:24:57.266 --> 00:25:01.031
ASSOCIATION, THEY CLAIM
THAT CO-OPS TAKE ADVANTAGE

00:25:01.066 --> 00:25:03.165
OF THE FREE MARKET
AND DO NOT PAY THEIR

00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:05.165
FAIR SHARE IN TAXES.

00:25:06.533 --> 00:25:09.165
It was part of the front
that felt that

00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:12.165
cooperatives had some
relationship to communism

00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:14.531
and we should stop them
in every particular way

00:25:14.566 --> 00:25:16.531
in which we could.

00:25:16.566 --> 00:25:20.831
The fact that we share our
profits with our members

00:25:20.866 --> 00:25:23.998
is one of the things that
is really, really good.

00:25:24.033 --> 00:25:26.598
You wanna share your profits
with your customers?

00:25:26.633 --> 00:25:30.165
You\'ll get a tax
reduction as well.

00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:33.331
BY THE EARLY 1950s, IT\'S
CLEAR THAT CO-OPS HAVE

00:25:33.366 --> 00:25:35.298
POWERFUL ENEMIES.

00:25:40.066 --> 00:25:43.065
Now, I don\'t object to
co-ops being in business,

00:25:43.100 --> 00:25:45.531
but I think it\'s only fair
that they pay an equal

00:25:45.566 --> 00:25:48.298
share of the tax note.
That\'s why I\'m going to do

00:25:48.333 --> 00:25:50.698
something about it, today.

00:25:50.733 --> 00:25:52.998
I\'m writing to the
Representative in Congress

00:25:53.033 --> 00:25:55.331
from my district, and the
two Senators from my

00:25:55.366 --> 00:25:58.165
state, saying that I think
that cooperatives and

00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:01.165
mutuals should pay their
fair share of income taxes

00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:04.165
right along with the rest
of us. But how about you?

00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.798
What are you going
to do about it?

00:26:06.833 --> 00:26:08.765
CO-OPS LEARN THE
IMPORTANCE OF GAINING

00:26:08.800 --> 00:26:12.165
POLITICAL SUPPORT AND FIND
A STELLAR CHAMPION IN

00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:14.431
CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMAN
JERRY VOORHIS.

00:26:14.466 --> 00:26:17.965
VOORHIS HELPED FORM AND
FINANCE MANY CO-OPS DURING

00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:20.265
THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

00:26:20.300 --> 00:26:22.265
He was concerned about the
little guy.

00:26:22.300 --> 00:26:25.298
The little businessman,
the little grocer.

00:26:25.333 --> 00:26:27.931
He was very concerned
about the impact of

00:26:27.966 --> 00:26:29.931
bigness on Main Street
America.

00:26:29.966 --> 00:26:32.898
He talked about what we
should be afraid of,

00:26:32.933 --> 00:26:35.231
what we should be
concerned about,

00:26:35.266 --> 00:26:37.698
what we should
encourage, and what

00:26:37.733 --> 00:26:40.031
we should try not to encourage.

00:26:40.066 --> 00:26:43.431
He actively attempted in
every way possible to

00:26:43.466 --> 00:26:46.465
build the kind of society,
through cooperatives,

00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:50.131
that he felt would be the
best to serve America.

00:26:50.166 --> 00:26:53.731
IN 1946, JERRY VOORHIS IS
CHALLENGED BY A YOUNG

00:26:53.766 --> 00:26:55.731
LAWYER FROM WHITTER,
CALIFORNIA.

00:26:58.033 --> 00:27:00.031
IN HIS FIRST RUN
FOR OFFICE,

00:27:00.066 --> 00:27:02.198
RICHARD NIXON DISPLAYS A
DISTINCT APPROACH TO

00:27:02.233 --> 00:27:04.131
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING.

00:27:04.166 --> 00:27:08.531
He tied Jerry Voorhis
into different little,

00:27:08.566 --> 00:27:10.431
sort of, you know, well,
you know this person and

00:27:10.466 --> 00:27:12.431
that person and that person,

00:27:12.466 --> 00:27:15.031
and that person is a
communist.

00:27:15.066 --> 00:27:18.598
And he made it sound like
Jerry Voorhis was an

00:27:18.633 --> 00:27:21.998
active communist and
against everything that

00:27:22.033 --> 00:27:24.198
the United States
stood for,

00:27:24.233 --> 00:27:27.798
and none of it was true.

00:27:27.833 --> 00:27:29.865
THE TACTIC WORKS, AND LAUNCHES

00:27:29.900 --> 00:27:32.498
NIXON\'S POLITICAL CAREER.

00:27:32.533 --> 00:27:36.265
HE IS ELECTED SENATOR,
THEN VICE-PRESIDENT,

00:27:36.300 --> 00:27:38.365
AND EVENTUALLY PRESIDENT.

00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:40.698
NIXON WOULD LATER GET INTO
TROUBLE CONFUSING HIS

00:27:40.733 --> 00:27:44.765
PRESIDENTIAL POWER WITH
THAT OF THE KING.

00:27:44.800 --> 00:27:46.965
JERRY VOORHIS IS APPOINTED
HEAD OF THE COOPERATIVE

00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.131
LEAGUE OF THE USA.

00:27:49.166 --> 00:27:51.731
HE CONTINUES TO ADVOCATE
FOR CO-OPS FOR THE NEXT

00:27:51.766 --> 00:27:55.231
TWENTY YEARS DURING A TIME
OF FADING PUBLIC INTEREST.

00:27:57.566 --> 00:28:07.698
♪ [Slow blues music]

00:28:07.733 --> 00:28:22.231
♪ [Slow blues music]

00:28:22.266 --> 00:28:24.465
WHILE THE COUNTRY
EXPERIENCES

00:28:24.500 --> 00:28:26.465
UNPRECEDENTED WEALTH AND
ABUNDANCE,

00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:28.965
IN RURAL AREAS AND IN THE
INNER CITIES,

00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.731
IT\'S AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM
OF NEGLECT.

00:28:31.766 --> 00:28:34.298
BY THE END OF THE 1950s,
FIFTY-FIVE MILLION

00:28:34.333 --> 00:28:36.298
AMERICANS ARE POOR.

00:28:36.333 --> 00:28:38.298
HALF OF ALL
AFRICAN-AMERICANS

00:28:38.333 --> 00:28:40.298
LIVE IN POVERTY.

00:28:40.333 --> 00:28:42.298
THE PERSON WHO
STARTS MY CO-OP

00:28:42.333 --> 00:28:44.298
WANTS THAT TO CHANGE.

00:28:47.133 --> 00:28:51.731
I saw people who I felt
were oppressed and not

00:28:51.766 --> 00:28:54.331
given a fair shake for no,
no good reason.

00:28:55.933 --> 00:28:57.898
That wasn\'t right.

00:28:57.933 --> 00:29:00.631
So we had to try to
change things.

00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:07.298
I went down to
Atlanta, Georgia.

00:29:07.333 --> 00:29:09.898
We lived in a house that
was provided for us called

00:29:09.933 --> 00:29:11.898
Freedom House.

00:29:11.933 --> 00:29:14.831
We did various kinds of
activities that would

00:29:14.866 --> 00:29:18.065
confront the white racist
establishment.

00:29:18.100 --> 00:29:20.065
Boycotted places that were

00:29:20.100 --> 00:29:22.598
discriminating
against black folks.

00:29:22.633 --> 00:29:25.498
We were kept busy.

00:29:25.533 --> 00:29:28.465
♪♪♪♪

00:29:37.266 --> 00:29:40.265
TOM\'S PARTICIPATION IN A
SIT-IN LANDS HIM IN THE

00:29:40.300 --> 00:29:43.398
FULTON COUNTY JAIL AND
INCREASES HIS COMMITMENT

00:29:43.433 --> 00:29:45.831
TO DEAL WITH THE CRUCIAL
UNDERLYING ISSUE.

00:29:45.866 --> 00:29:52.165
I got involved in
the war on poverty in 1964

00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:54.798
when my wife and I
joined VISTA,

00:29:54.833 --> 00:29:57.331
Volunteers in Service
to America, where

00:29:57.366 --> 00:30:00.331
we worked almost completely
with black, migrant kids.

00:30:00.366 --> 00:30:02.298
The school where I taught
in VISTA,

00:30:02.333 --> 00:30:04.798
they got the used books
from the white school

00:30:04.833 --> 00:30:06.798
while the white school got
the new books.

00:30:06.833 --> 00:30:08.798
What kind of, what kind of
crap is that?

00:30:08.833 --> 00:30:10.798
But that\'s what it
was like.

00:30:12.433 --> 00:30:15.331
Then after VISTA,
came up north,

00:30:15.366 --> 00:30:18.165
and then I got a job as a

00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:21.298
community organizer
in Turners Falls.

00:30:31.833 --> 00:30:34.498
TURNERS FALLS IS THE GRAND
VISION OF INDUSTRIALIST

00:30:34.533 --> 00:30:38.331
ALVA CROCKER, WHO IN 1870
ENTICES INVESTORS AND

00:30:38.366 --> 00:30:40.765
FACTORY OWNERS TO BUILD
THEIR PLANTS ALONG THE

00:30:40.800 --> 00:30:42.765
CONNECTICUT RIVER.

00:30:42.800 --> 00:30:45.565
WATER POWER AND CHEAP
RURAL LABOR FUEL THE

00:30:45.600 --> 00:30:47.565
PRODUCTION OF
PAPER, COTTON,

00:30:47.600 --> 00:30:49.731
AND CUTLERY TO CREATE A

00:30:49.766 --> 00:30:52.865
THRIVING AND VIBRANT COMMUNITY.

00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:55.798
WITH THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS
GAINFULLY EMPLOYED,

00:30:55.833 --> 00:30:57.798
TOWNSPEOPLE BUILD
LIBRARIES,

00:30:57.833 --> 00:31:00.465
HOSPITALS, A THEATER,
SCHOOLS,

00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:02.531
AND PLAYGROUNDS.

00:31:02.566 --> 00:31:04.531
FUELED BY AN EQUITABLE
ABUNDANCE,

00:31:04.566 --> 00:31:07.598
MAIN STREET MERCHANTS AND
PUBLIC OFFICIALS GENERATE

00:31:07.633 --> 00:31:09.565
CIVIC PRIDE AND GOODWILL,
TAKING MOST SERIOUSLY

00:31:09.600 --> 00:31:12.465
THEIR PRIMARY CHARGE:

00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:14.465
THE RAISING OF THE
NEXT GENERATION.

00:31:31.266 --> 00:31:33.598
BUT POOR PLANNING AND THE
LURE OF CHEAP LABOR

00:31:33.633 --> 00:31:36.665
ELSEWHERE BRING THE VISION
TO A SUDDEN HALT.

00:31:40.633 --> 00:31:42.565
COMMUNITY, AS IT
TURNED OUT,

00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:45.365
WAS A MERE BY-PRODUCT OF
WEALTH CREATION,

00:31:45.400 --> 00:31:47.531
NOT CENTRAL TO IT.

00:31:47.566 --> 00:31:49.998
SIXTY YEARS LATER, THE
TOWN THAT WAS ONCE

00:31:50.033 --> 00:31:52.265
HERALDED AS ONE OF THE
MOST PROSPEROUS IN THE

00:31:52.300 --> 00:31:54.898
STATE IS NOW ONE
OF THE POOREST.

00:31:54.933 --> 00:31:58.998
[Sound effect:
Child\'s laser gun]

00:31:59.033 --> 00:32:01.065
We tried to get
poor people

00:32:01.100 --> 00:32:03.831
involved in programs that
would be helpful.

00:32:03.866 --> 00:32:06.331
We got a food and
nutrition grant.

00:32:06.366 --> 00:32:10.598
And we had to write up a
program for how we would

00:32:10.633 --> 00:32:13.798
spend the money, and having
a food coop was one of them.

00:32:13.833 --> 00:32:16.331
It was funded by
a poverty program.

00:32:16.366 --> 00:32:19.998
A lot of low-income people
were eating over-processed

00:32:20.033 --> 00:32:22.098
food at fairly
high prices.

00:32:22.133 --> 00:32:24.098
They didn\'t have much
control over the quality,

00:32:24.133 --> 00:32:26.165
or much of anything else.

00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:28.598
And so we worked with
those people to see if we

00:32:28.633 --> 00:32:30.831
could do some good.

00:32:30.866 --> 00:32:34.365
The idea was to get good
food at low prices.

00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:36.365
I had hired an organizer.

00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:38.365
And he came up with ten or
fifteen households that

00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:40.731
said they\'d be interested.

00:32:40.766 --> 00:32:42.731
He volunteered his
apartment to be the,

00:32:42.766 --> 00:32:44.831
the drop-off place.

00:32:44.866 --> 00:32:46.731
It was really hard on the space.

00:32:46.766 --> 00:32:48.798
And as more people were
interested,

00:32:48.833 --> 00:32:50.698
it was much more difficult to,
to distribute the food and all.

00:32:50.733 --> 00:32:53.398
And somebody had learned
about a building that was

00:32:53.433 --> 00:32:56.031
vacant which was really a
much better location.

00:32:56.066 --> 00:32:59.098
And then we started
really expanding

00:32:59.133 --> 00:33:01.065
the co-op\'s activities.

00:33:01.100 --> 00:33:03.865
I like the idea that we
had full-time working

00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:06.765
members that came in and
would put in three or four

00:33:06.800 --> 00:33:08.831
hours every month, and they
did various things to

00:33:08.866 --> 00:33:10.865
keep the co-op going.

00:33:10.900 --> 00:33:13.531
[Music: trumpet playing]

00:33:13.566 --> 00:33:15.631
SELF-HELP PROGRAMS

00:33:15.666 --> 00:33:18.065
PROMOTED BY PRESIDENT
LYNDON JOHNSON\'S WAR ON

00:33:18.100 --> 00:33:21.365
POVERTY SPRING UP IN
COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:24.365
IT IS THE BEGINNING OF A
SECOND WAVE OF CO-OP

00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:27.265
DEVELOPMENT, THIS TIME
CENTERED ON FOOD.

00:33:27.300 --> 00:33:30.131
Have you got yours, babe?

00:33:30.166 --> 00:33:32.865
THE MULTIFACETED
ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAMS

00:33:32.900 --> 00:33:35.265
BRING AN IMMEDIATE AND
DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN

00:33:35.300 --> 00:33:40.031
POVERTY BY EMPOWERING PEOPLE
TO SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS.

00:33:40.066 --> 00:33:42.031
How many bags do you need?

00:33:42.066 --> 00:33:44.931
Well all right, how much?

00:33:44.966 --> 00:33:47.165
Six dollars, for
twenty-four,

00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:50.298
twenty-four twos.
Twenty-four for two bags?

00:33:50.333 --> 00:33:53.098
Yeah.

00:33:53.133 --> 00:33:56.598
It\'s twenty-five cents a
bag. I\'ll charge you twenty.

00:33:56.633 --> 00:33:58.598
Well you\'re not giving any
bargains around here.

00:33:58.633 --> 00:34:01.798
When is bargain day down here?
Everyday in the week.

00:34:01.833 --> 00:34:05.698
You go in there one day,
the price is fifty-nine cent.

00:34:05.733 --> 00:34:09.098
The next day you go in,
it\'s gone up ten cents more.

00:34:09.133 --> 00:34:12.131
Toilet tissue is
fifty-five cents a roll.

00:34:12.166 --> 00:34:17.165
Soaps and things and
powders: 89 cents a box.

00:34:17.200 --> 00:34:19.331
Everything you buy,
butter,

00:34:19.366 --> 00:34:22.098
eggs, a dollar nineteen.

00:34:22.133 --> 00:34:24.798
You go to other stores,
further out of the

00:34:24.833 --> 00:34:27.765
neighborhood, you can get
them for eighty-nine cents.

00:34:40.233 --> 00:34:46.265
Could I have a little bit
of peace and quiet, please?

00:34:46.300 --> 00:34:49.198
Instead of going shopping
up to Jack\'s store or

00:34:49.233 --> 00:34:52.131
Durans store, we\'re going
to a co-op place and buy

00:34:52.166 --> 00:34:54.031
these foods at
wholesale prices.

00:34:54.066 --> 00:34:56.165
The same thing they pay for,
and this way we don\'t have

00:34:56.200 --> 00:34:59.898
to pay any more for the food.

00:34:59.933 --> 00:35:03.365
ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAMS HELP
START HUNDREDS OF

00:35:03.400 --> 00:35:06.398
CO-OPS LIKE MINE.

00:35:06.433 --> 00:35:09.065
THEY ALSO HELP FARMERS.

00:35:09.100 --> 00:35:12.831
In the last ten years,
mechanization of the farms

00:35:12.866 --> 00:35:16.431
created a situation where
quite a few of these

00:35:16.466 --> 00:35:19.298
farmers were without
anything to do.

00:35:19.333 --> 00:35:23.665
So this co-op was
organized to be able to

00:35:23.700 --> 00:35:26.398
provide income for the
small farmer on a small

00:35:26.433 --> 00:35:28.398
amount of land.

00:35:28.433 --> 00:35:31.331
So we chose to go into
what we call a

00:35:31.366 --> 00:35:34.765
vegetable-producing co-op.

00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:37.965
THIS ALABAMA CO-OP JOINS
WITH OVER A HUNDRED OTHER

00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:41.065
PRODUCER CO-OPS TO FORM
THE FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN

00:35:41.100 --> 00:35:44.665
COOPERATIVES -- AN
ELEVEN-STATE ORGANIZATION

00:35:44.700 --> 00:35:46.665
REPRESENTING OVER
THIRTY THOUSAND

00:35:46.700 --> 00:35:48.798
LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.

00:35:48.833 --> 00:35:50.998
BY HELPING PEOPLE TO
WORK TOGETHER,

00:35:51.033 --> 00:35:53.998
CO-OPS ARE AGAIN CHALLENGING
THE ESTABLISHED ORDER.

00:35:54.033 --> 00:35:56.931
The people here came out
of the Civil Rights

00:35:56.966 --> 00:36:00.998
movement and believe in
the cooperative movement.

00:36:04.033 --> 00:36:06.831
It was the idea
that we were

00:36:06.866 --> 00:36:09.731
masters of our own destiny.

00:36:09.766 --> 00:36:13.698
We did control what all we
had and at what prices we

00:36:13.733 --> 00:36:17.131
sold them at and how we
distributed what little

00:36:17.166 --> 00:36:19.131
money we made.

00:36:19.166 --> 00:36:21.998
The original members, they
were conservative,

00:36:22.033 --> 00:36:25.465
low-income and
low-middle-income people.

00:36:25.500 --> 00:36:28.631
As things evolved, I think
more and more of the folks

00:36:28.666 --> 00:36:30.931
that were, or the type of
folks that were original

00:36:30.966 --> 00:36:37.165
members, tended to either
leave the co-op or be

00:36:37.200 --> 00:36:42.498
subsumed by other members
that had a more,

00:36:42.533 --> 00:36:46.398
a different kind of a
lifestyle than the normal one.

00:36:56.300 --> 00:36:59.198
It was a coming together
of people who were a part

00:36:59.233 --> 00:37:01.965
of that quote-unquote
\"hippie movement,

00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:04.631
but were also much more
politically focused,

00:37:04.666 --> 00:37:06.631
much more economically focused,

00:37:06.666 --> 00:37:08.731
social change focused.

00:37:08.766 --> 00:37:10.631
[Protesters chanting]

00:37:10.666 --> 00:37:12.731
That was one of
the beautiful things

00:37:12.766 --> 00:37:15.998
of coming of age in
the sixties.

00:37:16.033 --> 00:37:18.798
We just felt that we could
make a huge difference.

00:37:18.833 --> 00:37:22.065
Young people raising their
voices and opposing the

00:37:22.100 --> 00:37:24.998
Vietnam War had an impact
and eventually it,

00:37:25.033 --> 00:37:27.565
it came to a stop.

00:37:27.600 --> 00:37:32.265
So why not also take on
other huge,

00:37:32.300 --> 00:37:35.365
monolithic cultural
phenomenons with the same

00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:37.965
intention, which is to
bring them back to a

00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.031
simpler, more peaceful,
more holistic, place.

00:37:41.066 --> 00:37:47.598
And what more important
than food?

00:37:47.633 --> 00:37:49.898
WHILE CO-OPS ATTEMPT TO
GAIN A FOOTHOLD IN THE

00:37:49.933 --> 00:37:53.631
LARGER ECONOMY, THE FOOD
INDUSTRY IS ENGAGED IN A

00:37:53.666 --> 00:37:56.631
RUTHLESS COMPETITION FOR
CORPORATE CONTROL.

00:37:56.666 --> 00:37:59.265
WITHIN A DECADE, TWO
MILLLION FAMILY FARMS GO

00:37:59.300 --> 00:38:02.031
OUT OF BUSINESS -- SIX
HUNDRED THOUSAND ARE TAKEN

00:38:02.066 --> 00:38:04.765
OVER BY GIANT
AGRI-BUSINESSES.

00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:07.231
THE DRIVE TOWARD
CONSOLIDATION IS LED BY

00:38:07.266 --> 00:38:09.798
THE THIRTY-SEVENTH
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

00:38:12.133 --> 00:38:14.731
NIXON\'S APPOINTMENT OF
EARL BUTZ TO HEAD THE

00:38:14.766 --> 00:38:17.731
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
IS A WATERSHED EVENT FOR

00:38:17.766 --> 00:38:19.731
THE COUNTRY\'S FARMERS.

00:38:19.766 --> 00:38:21.731
Unless there is some
profit in food,

00:38:21.766 --> 00:38:24.065
there will be no food for
people.

00:38:24.100 --> 00:38:26.831
If you want to eat well,
and if you want your

00:38:26.866 --> 00:38:29.731
sons and grandsons to eat well,

00:38:29.766 --> 00:38:31.765
we\'re gonna make
this industry pay.

00:38:33.866 --> 00:38:36.631
A SPIKE IN FOOD PRICES
SETS THE STAGE FOR THE

00:38:36.666 --> 00:38:41.298
TRANSFER OF BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS FROM FAMILY FARMS

00:38:41.333 --> 00:38:43.298
TO A FEW CORPORATIONS.

00:38:43.333 --> 00:38:45.298
[Auctioneer chanting]

00:38:45.333 --> 00:38:47.298
EFFICIENCY THROUGH

00:38:47.333 --> 00:38:50.365
MECHANIZATION IS THE
STATED OBJECTIVE FOR A

00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:52.998
CHANGED INDUSTRY\'S
CENTRAL GOAL.

00:38:53.033 --> 00:38:58.565
It\'s spelled P-R-O-F-I-T.

00:39:12.033 --> 00:39:14.665
WHILE AT THE SAME TIME,
THOUSANDS OF INDEPENDENT

00:39:14.700 --> 00:39:17.598
GROCERY STORES AND
REGIONAL CHAIN STORES ARE

00:39:17.633 --> 00:39:20.165
DRIVEN OUT OF BUSINESS BY
GIANT CHAINS.

00:39:24.133 --> 00:39:26.831
WHEN THE DUST SETTLES, THE
POWER IS IN THE HANDS OF A

00:39:26.866 --> 00:39:29.531
FEW REMAINING COMPANIES
THAT DEMANDED PRICE

00:39:29.566 --> 00:39:32.631
CONCESSIONS FROM
THEIR SUPPLIERS.

00:39:32.666 --> 00:39:35.465
CENTRALIZED CONTROL REAPS
LARGE PROFITS AND

00:39:35.500 --> 00:39:38.198
INCREASES MARKET SHARE,
WHICH CONSOLIDATES

00:39:38.233 --> 00:39:40.198
CORPORATE POWER.

00:39:41.666 --> 00:39:46.165
The agribusiness and the
food industry were doing

00:39:46.200 --> 00:39:50.298
to food what corporate
American capitalism was

00:39:50.333 --> 00:39:54.231
doing in almost every
aspect of the American economy.

00:39:54.266 --> 00:39:57.598
It was centralizing the
means of production in

00:39:57.633 --> 00:39:59.598
order to enrich those who

00:39:59.633 --> 00:40:01.565
could control the
means of production.

00:40:04.866 --> 00:40:08.298
When you have to package
food for mass

00:40:08.333 --> 00:40:10.431
distribution, you have to
add a lot of chemical

00:40:10.466 --> 00:40:12.431
preservatives,
you have to,

00:40:12.466 --> 00:40:15.065
you know, pump up the
yields and production,

00:40:15.100 --> 00:40:17.398
which involves using lots
of pesticides.

00:40:17.433 --> 00:40:19.398
The grains weren\'t whole
grains,

00:40:19.433 --> 00:40:21.398
so if you\'re eating a loaf
of bread,

00:40:21.433 --> 00:40:23.398
you\'re not getting
anywhere near the

00:40:23.433 --> 00:40:25.398
nutrition that you would
get as if you had a whole

00:40:25.433 --> 00:40:27.698
loaf of bread made from
whole grains.

00:40:27.733 --> 00:40:31.065
It was a question about
America being off track.

00:40:36.333 --> 00:40:38.765
Economic issues seemed to
me to be the most

00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:40.765
important thing going on.

00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:43.998
Economic motives were
underneath things that

00:40:44.033 --> 00:40:46.198
people talked about.
They were underneath the way

00:40:46.233 --> 00:40:49.031
the communities
were structured.

00:40:49.066 --> 00:40:51.131
They were underneath what
wars we

00:40:51.166 --> 00:40:53.031
chose to involve ourselves in.

00:41:01.966 --> 00:41:06.531
The co-op felt like a
truly nonviolent pursuit

00:41:06.566 --> 00:41:09.365
that was trying to change
the society in the

00:41:09.400 --> 00:41:11.931
direction that I wanted to
see changes happen:

00:41:11.966 --> 00:41:15.265
greater economic justice
and healthier food.

00:41:15.300 --> 00:41:18.998
Rather than letting some
corporation organize it

00:41:19.033 --> 00:41:22.131
for you, um, which seemed
like it was,

00:41:22.166 --> 00:41:24.198
was beginning to look like
it was disastrous to

00:41:24.233 --> 00:41:26.198
structure your way of life
that way,

00:41:26.233 --> 00:41:28.198
this seemed an
alternative.

00:41:28.233 --> 00:41:30.198
You get together with the
people you know,

00:41:30.233 --> 00:41:32.198
the people around you in
your community,

00:41:32.233 --> 00:41:35.198
you figure out what you
wanna do, and you do it.

00:41:40.166 --> 00:41:43.198
We saw a need for
distributing food at a low

00:41:43.233 --> 00:41:47.498
price and to not energize
big agribusiness and the

00:41:47.533 --> 00:41:51.231
produce terminals, which
only serve to rip off the

00:41:51.266 --> 00:41:54.631
people and the farmers who
grow the food.

00:41:54.666 --> 00:41:57.298
We see ourselves as an
alternative to doing that,

00:41:57.333 --> 00:42:00.365
because we deal with
small farmers and we try

00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:04.365
to get good quality stuff
and organically grown.

00:42:04.400 --> 00:42:07.265
Agribusiness is taking
over farming not by buying

00:42:07.300 --> 00:42:10.298
up the land and making the
farmer a hireling,

00:42:10.333 --> 00:42:12.965
but by taking over all the
inputs that a farmer has

00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:18.098
to buy, and by taking over
all the marketplaces that

00:42:18.133 --> 00:42:21.498
a farmer has available
to sell to.

00:42:21.533 --> 00:42:24.031
WITH AN EXPANDING
INDUSTRIAL FOOD SYSTEM

00:42:24.066 --> 00:42:26.531
COMES AN
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS.

00:42:26.566 --> 00:42:28.531
PETROLEUM-BASED
FERTILIZERS,

00:42:28.566 --> 00:42:32.198
HERBICIDES, AND FUNGICIDES
THAT CORPORATIONS PROMISE

00:42:32.233 --> 00:42:35.131
WILL FEED THE WORLD
INSTEAD DEVASTATE

00:42:35.166 --> 00:42:39.331
ECOSYSTEMS AND TURN
NUTRIENT-RICH SOILS INTO A

00:42:39.366 --> 00:42:41.931
LIFELESS SUBSTANCE.

00:42:41.966 --> 00:42:44.531
AN INFORMED PUBLIC IS
GALVANIZED TO TAKE ACTION,

00:42:47.666 --> 00:42:50.131
AND CO-OPS ARE SEEN AS
PART OF THE SOLUTION.

00:42:50.166 --> 00:42:55.898
How do you see the store
fitting into the community?

00:42:55.933 --> 00:43:02.065
I see it as something
unusual and rare.

00:43:02.100 --> 00:43:04.965
DURING THE 1970s, FOOD
CO-OPS SPRING UP ACROSS

00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.731
THE LAND LIKE MUSHROOMS
AFTER A SPRING RAIN.

00:43:09.766 --> 00:43:12.165
MY CO-OP IS ONE OF
THOUSANDS OF STOREFRONTS

00:43:12.200 --> 00:43:14.165
AND BUYING CLUBS.

00:43:14.200 --> 00:43:16.931
THE GOAL IS TO ADDRESS THE
ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC

00:43:16.966 --> 00:43:19.565
PROBLEMS THROUGH
HEALTHIER FOODS

00:43:19.600 --> 00:43:21.798
AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS.

00:43:21.833 --> 00:43:25.131
The Whole Food Co-op was
started by men and women

00:43:25.166 --> 00:43:27.898
from this community who
were concerned about the

00:43:27.933 --> 00:43:32.831
low level of, uh, quality
of food that we receive in

00:43:32.866 --> 00:43:35.798
our community, who wanted
to bring a higher level

00:43:35.833 --> 00:43:39.731
of, uh, nutrition and
nutrition information and

00:43:39.766 --> 00:43:42.731
education to the people of
our community.

00:43:42.766 --> 00:43:46.065
Our specialty is
the whole grains,

00:43:46.100 --> 00:43:48.298
the whole products:
millet,

00:43:48.333 --> 00:43:52.298
bulgur, chickpea flour,
all kinds of soy products,

00:43:52.333 --> 00:43:55.431
soy powder, soy milk.

00:43:55.466 --> 00:43:57.765
THE RAPID INCREASE IN
CO-OP GROCERY STORES

00:43:57.800 --> 00:44:01.098
CREATES THE NEED FOR MORE
CO-OP SUPPLIERS.

00:44:01.133 --> 00:44:04.065
IN RESPONSE, OVER THIRTY
DISTRIBUTION CENTERS AND

00:44:04.100 --> 00:44:06.098
WAREHOUSES ARE STARTED.

00:44:06.133 --> 00:44:08.665
IN PLACES LIKE ANN
ARBOR, MICHIGAN;

00:44:08.700 --> 00:44:11.231
MADISON, WISCONSIN;
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA;

00:44:11.266 --> 00:44:13.598
TUSCON, ARIZONA;

00:44:13.633 --> 00:44:17.431
AND BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT,
THESE BECOME OF THE HUB OF

00:44:17.466 --> 00:44:20.331
ORGANIC AND WHOLE GRAIN
DELIVERIES TO HUNDREDS OF

00:44:20.366 --> 00:44:24.198
NEW CO-OP STORES IN EVERY
REGION OF THE UNITED STATES.

00:44:24.233 --> 00:44:26.698
THE GOAL TO ESTABLISH AN
ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC

00:44:26.733 --> 00:44:29.198
SYSTEM, CENTERED
AROUND FOOD,

00:44:29.233 --> 00:44:31.731
MAKES A BIG LEAP FORWARD.

00:44:31.766 --> 00:44:35.431
I really did think for a
moment that perhaps we

00:44:35.466 --> 00:44:38.698
might just change the
world that we were in

00:44:38.733 --> 00:44:41.998
because people were
starting to talk about

00:44:42.033 --> 00:44:44.598
cooperatives and to create
cooperatives and buying

00:44:44.633 --> 00:44:47.831
clubs and you know, It, it
seemed to be everywhere.

00:44:47.866 --> 00:44:51.531
It seemed to be in
every community.

00:44:51.566 --> 00:44:54.465
I thought, how can I be
involved in some kind of

00:44:54.500 --> 00:44:57.131
social change situation
that everybody needs?

00:44:57.166 --> 00:44:59.531
And I thought, ah-ha.
Voilà - Food!

00:44:59.566 --> 00:45:01.665
Food.
Everybody needs food.

00:45:01.700 --> 00:45:04.231
Church ladies, the
farmers, the hippies,

00:45:04.266 --> 00:45:06.198
and so I thought,
\"Oh, this is cool.

00:45:06.233 --> 00:45:08.198
We can do this!\"

00:45:08.233 --> 00:45:10.365
I thought
it would be so simple.

00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:12.365
But when I got into it,
I realized,

00:45:12.400 --> 00:45:14.431
oh even with something as
simple as food,

00:45:14.466 --> 00:45:16.431
everybody had a different
idea about it.

00:45:16.466 --> 00:45:18.431
Some people wanted it to
be a church.

00:45:18.466 --> 00:45:20.431
Some wanted it to be a
daycare center.

00:45:20.466 --> 00:45:22.431
Some wanted it to be a
political alternative.

00:45:22.466 --> 00:45:24.565
Some wanted it to be an
educational thing.

00:45:24.600 --> 00:45:27.065
We used to have, I\'m
talking all-night meetings

00:45:27.100 --> 00:45:31.731
about whether or not the
co-op should carry pet food.

00:45:31.766 --> 00:45:33.731
That\'s something
that we want.

00:45:33.766 --> 00:45:35.965
We just want people food.
What do you mean?

00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:38.431
My cat is, is a person,
and, you know, oh my god.

00:45:38.466 --> 00:45:43.631
The board was sort of the
manager and everybody was

00:45:43.666 --> 00:45:47.031
in on the decision-making,
and even though it was

00:45:47.066 --> 00:45:50.265
still small, it was
cumbersome.

00:45:50.300 --> 00:45:52.598
Some people thought that
you could have a store

00:45:52.633 --> 00:45:55.731
where you could tell
people to take what you

00:45:55.766 --> 00:45:59.031
need and put in the cash
register what you can.

00:45:59.066 --> 00:46:01.631
Some of the stores
required everybody to work

00:46:01.666 --> 00:46:03.631
three to five hours
a week.

00:46:03.666 --> 00:46:07.298
It was quite a struggle in
a lot of the cooperatives

00:46:07.333 --> 00:46:10.531
allowing for there to be a
general manager when

00:46:10.566 --> 00:46:12.865
before it was collective
management.

00:46:12.900 --> 00:46:15.498
The managers we had
weren\'t as skilled as we

00:46:15.533 --> 00:46:17.498
would have liked, but they
were under difficult

00:46:17.533 --> 00:46:19.498
circumstances because they
had employees who didn\'t

00:46:19.533 --> 00:46:21.498
really recognize them as
managers.

00:46:21.533 --> 00:46:23.498
There was pressure from
the workers,

00:46:23.533 --> 00:46:25.498
saying, \"I want a
cooperative workforce.

00:46:25.533 --> 00:46:27.598
I don\'t want to have any
managers,

00:46:27.633 --> 00:46:29.565
I don\'t want anyone
telling us what to do.\"

00:46:29.600 --> 00:46:31.331
It\'s almost like we were

00:46:31.366 --> 00:46:33.231
figuring it out as
we went along.

00:46:33.266 --> 00:46:37.665
The store has to play its
part in overcoming the ego

00:46:37.700 --> 00:46:40.131
through cooperation and
selfless service.

00:46:40.166 --> 00:46:45.031
Cooperation sort of
reinforces the group,

00:46:45.066 --> 00:46:47.631
and, uh, over the single
individual.

00:46:47.666 --> 00:46:49.965
And that\'s a very
important thing when

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:52.431
you\'re dealing with
egotism.

00:46:52.466 --> 00:46:54.431
You work down here and you
get worn out.

00:46:54.466 --> 00:46:56.431
You know, that\'s a fact.

00:46:56.466 --> 00:46:58.431
It\'s just a matter of time
when you realize that

00:46:58.466 --> 00:47:00.431
you\'re doing this gig,
you\'re doing it a lot,

00:47:00.466 --> 00:47:03.198
and you\'re not getting
anything out of it.

00:47:03.233 --> 00:47:05.198
And once you realize
you\'re not getting

00:47:05.233 --> 00:47:07.198
anything out
of it, you say,

00:47:07.233 --> 00:47:09.198
\"Well, what the hell am
I doing it for?\" You know?

00:47:09.233 --> 00:47:11.198
I mean, all right, you get
the satisfaction of giving

00:47:11.233 --> 00:47:13.198
people food for a
cheap price,

00:47:13.233 --> 00:47:15.198
but then you realize that\'s
all you\'re doing. You know,

00:47:15.233 --> 00:47:17.198
you\'re giving. You\'re giving
and giving and giving.

00:47:17.233 --> 00:47:21.998
We don\'t get paid salaries
because we are working

00:47:22.033 --> 00:47:26.098
selflessly to overcome our
ego-consciousness and to

00:47:26.133 --> 00:47:28.231
work towards a better
world.

00:47:28.266 --> 00:47:31.931
And I think the movement
is facilitating a new

00:47:31.966 --> 00:47:34.031
society, a new
consciousness.

00:47:34.066 --> 00:47:36.531
It\'s not just cheap food.

00:47:36.566 --> 00:47:40.865
It\'s, it\'s a new, uh, era
of time, the Aquarian Age.

00:47:40.900 --> 00:47:43.465
We had very idealistic
ways in which we could

00:47:43.500 --> 00:47:46.265
build this new society.

00:47:46.300 --> 00:47:50.331
But a lot of those
idealistic ways weren\'t

00:47:50.366 --> 00:47:53.798
grounded in true
economic principles.

00:47:53.833 --> 00:47:57.265
And, um, regretfully,
although a lot of

00:47:57.300 --> 00:48:01.398
cooperatives were founded
in the 1960s and \'70s,

00:48:01.433 --> 00:48:07.398
many of them passed
away over time.

00:48:08.833 --> 00:48:11.298
OF THE EIGHT HUNDRED
CO-OPS STARTED,

00:48:11.333 --> 00:48:13.865
ONLY TWO HUNDRED REMAIN.

00:48:13.900 --> 00:48:15.931
OF THE THIRTY CO-OP
WAREHOUSES,

00:48:15.966 --> 00:48:18.131
ONLY TWO SURVIVE.

00:48:18.166 --> 00:48:24.098
♪ [music]

00:48:44.800 --> 00:48:46.765
The business
decisions began to

00:48:46.800 --> 00:48:51.365
challenge the ideology
that we had been working on.

00:48:51.400 --> 00:48:54.931
We had to think about what
we were doing in terms of

00:48:54.966 --> 00:48:57.431
how it would play out
economically.

00:48:59.800 --> 00:49:02.131
IN A WORLD DOMINATED BY
GROCERY CHAINS,

00:49:02.166 --> 00:49:04.965
CO-OPS FACE GRAVE
CHALLENGES.

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:07.765
THEIR PATH TO SURVIVAL IS
IN THE GROWING MARKET OF

00:49:07.800 --> 00:49:10.765
WHOLE AND NATURAL FOODS
THAT THEY PIONEERED,

00:49:10.800 --> 00:49:12.831
BUT BY HEADING
DOWN THAT PATH,

00:49:12.866 --> 00:49:15.231
THEY WOULD FORESTALL THEIR
MISSION TO SELL LOW-COST

00:49:15.266 --> 00:49:18.398
FOOD IN LOW-INCOME
NEIGHBORHOODS.

00:49:18.433 --> 00:49:21.265
A PLAN IS PUT FORWARD AT
MY CO-OP TO MOVE TO

00:49:21.300 --> 00:49:24.931
ANOTHER TOWN -- ONE WITH A
LARGER POPULATION AND A

00:49:24.966 --> 00:49:26.931
HIGHER PER CAPITA INCOME.

00:49:26.966 --> 00:49:29.298
Everybody understood that
in moving to Greenfield,

00:49:29.333 --> 00:49:31.298
there would be more people
who would shop at the co-op.

00:49:31.333 --> 00:49:33.265
The kinds of foods that we

00:49:33.300 --> 00:49:35.965
were using were becoming
more popular.

00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:38.565
I didn\'t want the co-op to
move to Greenfield.

00:49:38.600 --> 00:49:42.431
Turners Falls had a lot of
people who needed it for

00:49:42.466 --> 00:49:45.165
economic reasons and
were using it as,

00:49:45.200 --> 00:49:47.498
as a source of cheap food.

00:49:47.533 --> 00:49:52.098
I wanted to move it and,
and some people really did not.

00:49:52.133 --> 00:49:57.665
And some of the older
people that had built it up.

00:49:57.700 --> 00:50:01.931
The decision about moving to
Greenfield split the community.

00:50:01.966 --> 00:50:05.098
That\'s why it was so
traumatic because it

00:50:05.133 --> 00:50:07.098
wasn\'t just a business
decision.

00:50:07.133 --> 00:50:09.898
It was a
community decision.

00:50:09.933 --> 00:50:11.998
The whole store was on
the line since it was a

00:50:12.033 --> 00:50:14.265
barely-salvageable
operation.

00:50:14.300 --> 00:50:16.265
There was no room
for error, really.

00:50:16.300 --> 00:50:18.265
We had to get this right.

00:50:18.300 --> 00:50:21.265
We had to get this right if we
were gonna survive as a co-op.

00:50:21.300 --> 00:50:23.931
It reacted to reality.

00:50:23.966 --> 00:50:27.131
The economic reality, the
cultural reality.

00:50:27.166 --> 00:50:30.231
The original vision may
have been flawed.

00:50:30.266 --> 00:50:36.298
But just because that
vision wasn\'t met is no

00:50:36.333 --> 00:50:38.865
reason to say, well we\'ll
throw the baby out with

00:50:38.900 --> 00:50:41.298
the bathwater.

00:50:41.333 --> 00:50:44.298
After a series of meetings
we just took a vote.

00:50:44.333 --> 00:50:47.131
And, uh, I think we lost

00:50:47.166 --> 00:50:49.131
some people when we
took that vote.

00:50:53.033 --> 00:50:54.998
It\'s one thing to make
your own mistakes in your

00:50:55.033 --> 00:50:56.998
life and pay the
consequences.

00:50:57.033 --> 00:50:59.198
But what if you make a
decision for a community

00:50:59.233 --> 00:51:01.265
store and blow it?

00:51:01.300 --> 00:51:03.998
Then you\'ve just lost
everybody\'s money and hard

00:51:04.033 --> 00:51:06.898
work and their trust and,

00:51:06.933 --> 00:51:10.265
and it felt it felt
really scary.

00:51:10.300 --> 00:51:16.565
And that we still didn\'t
exactly know how to run a

00:51:16.600 --> 00:51:19.465
grocery store.

00:51:19.500 --> 00:51:21.631
TEN YEARS AFTER THE
MONTAGUE CO-OP BEGAN

00:51:21.666 --> 00:51:23.765
SELLING WHOLE GRAIN FOODS
OUT OF SOMEONE\'S

00:51:23.800 --> 00:51:26.931
APARTMENT, MEMBERS TAKE A
BOLD LEAP OF FAITH TO

00:51:26.966 --> 00:51:29.631
REVIVE THEIR FRAIL
ECONOMIC VENTURE BY

00:51:29.666 --> 00:51:31.631
CHANGING LOCATIONS.

00:51:31.666 --> 00:51:33.898
BUT UNABLE TO PAY MAIN
STREET RENTS,

00:51:33.933 --> 00:51:37.465
THE BEST THEY CAN DO IS TO
FIND A PLACE ON A SIDE STREET.

00:51:37.500 --> 00:51:40.098
THEY ALSO CHANGE THE
CO-OP\'S NAME TO DISPLAY A

00:51:40.133 --> 00:51:42.098
MORE REGIONAL APPEAL.

00:51:42.133 --> 00:51:44.365
Business started
increasing immediately the

00:51:44.400 --> 00:51:46.331
moment we moved to
Greenfield.

00:51:46.366 --> 00:51:48.331
The store had more
products in it,

00:51:48.366 --> 00:51:50.398
started adding a couple of
employees.

00:51:50.433 --> 00:51:52.398
Sales just went up
whatever,

00:51:52.433 --> 00:51:55.598
fifty, sixty, seventy percent.
It was like, oh, my gosh.

00:51:55.633 --> 00:51:59.365
But trying to ride this
beast: what do we do now?

00:51:59.400 --> 00:52:03.465
We gotta come up with new
systems to be able to have

00:52:03.500 --> 00:52:05.465
more employees,
and more keys,

00:52:05.500 --> 00:52:07.465
and who\'s gonna schedule
these cashiers?

00:52:07.500 --> 00:52:09.498
What happens when
somebody\'s sick?

00:52:09.533 --> 00:52:13.965
And the ordering became
more complex.

00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:15.965
Some people thought

00:52:16.000 --> 00:52:17.998
getting bigger was
getting badder.

00:52:18.033 --> 00:52:19.965
It meant more impersonal,
more profit,

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:21.965
more, and there were other
people who said,

00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:24.465
what\'s wrong with profit
as long as we share it

00:52:24.500 --> 00:52:26.865
amongst each other? What\'s
wrong with getting bigger?

00:52:26.900 --> 00:52:29.831
We\'ll have more jobs, more
food, more everything.

00:52:29.866 --> 00:52:32.498
And others say we\'ll lose
our sense of community.

00:52:32.533 --> 00:52:35.998
Through that process, we
had managers who quit,

00:52:36.033 --> 00:52:39.031
we had workers who quit,
we had board presidents quit.

00:52:39.066 --> 00:52:42.931
There came a time where
they had to, uh, let me go.

00:52:42.966 --> 00:52:46.998
And I just thought,
\"You dirty rats.

00:52:47.033 --> 00:52:50.365
After all I\'ve done for
you.\" And so there goes my

00:52:50.400 --> 00:52:52.465
part-time job.
There goes my income.

00:52:52.500 --> 00:52:55.865
Well I didn\'t come in here for
two years because I was so mad.

00:52:55.900 --> 00:52:57.865
But in the end, really, I
couldn\'t run a

00:52:57.900 --> 00:52:59.865
multimillion-dollar
grocery store.

00:52:59.900 --> 00:53:01.931
I\'m a clown!

00:53:01.966 --> 00:53:03.931
I mean, the financial things
were getting so complicated.

00:53:03.966 --> 00:53:06.465
I couldn\'t
figure this out.

00:53:06.500 --> 00:53:09.831
What I\'ve made meaning out
of this is that there\'s a

00:53:09.866 --> 00:53:11.831
part that different kinds

00:53:11.866 --> 00:53:13.898
of people play in
an organization.

00:53:13.933 --> 00:53:16.365
And I see myself as an
overthruster,

00:53:16.400 --> 00:53:20.265
a person that comes in
with a blast of energy,

00:53:20.300 --> 00:53:22.931
can see certain things:
\"We gotta get to Greenfield.

00:53:22.966 --> 00:53:28.165
Let\'s go!\" And then
there\'s the people that

00:53:28.200 --> 00:53:32.298
are gonna put their head
in one of many available

00:53:32.333 --> 00:53:36.398
yokes and pull, pull for
the long term of,

00:53:36.433 --> 00:53:40.031
you know, mortgages and
financial statements and

00:53:40.066 --> 00:53:42.231
personnel policies.

00:53:42.266 --> 00:53:44.765
And a lot of time the
overthruster,

00:53:44.800 --> 00:53:47.965
more visionary people got
to go because they\'re,

00:53:48.000 --> 00:53:51.731
they\'re not gonna stay
there for the steady pull of it.

00:53:51.766 --> 00:53:57.765
And I thought it was meant
that I wasn\'t valued,

00:53:57.800 --> 00:53:59.798
and I wasn\'t needed.

00:53:59.833 --> 00:54:02.098
But I was needed for
that part of it.

00:54:02.133 --> 00:54:05.031
And then other types of
people are needed for the

00:54:05.066 --> 00:54:08.265
other parts of it, which
they really have talent

00:54:08.300 --> 00:54:12.165
and time and skill that
I didn\'t have.

00:54:12.200 --> 00:54:14.431
WHILE MY CO-OP GAINS
FINANCIAL STRENGTH ON A

00:54:14.466 --> 00:54:17.198
SIDE STREET, MAIN STREET
IS ABANDONED BY CHAIN

00:54:17.233 --> 00:54:20.698
STORES THAT FAVOR MALLS
OVER VILLAGE CENTERS.

00:54:20.733 --> 00:54:22.698
THE COLLAPSE OF A
TWO-HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD

00:54:22.733 --> 00:54:25.498
DOWNTOWN SEEMS IMMINENT
WHEN A PLAN IS PUT FORWARD

00:54:25.533 --> 00:54:28.165
FOR A NEW SHOPPING AREA,
TWO MILES NORTH OF MAIN STREET,

00:54:28.200 --> 00:54:30.965
AND LARGER THAN
THE ENTIRE DOWNTOWN,

00:54:31.000 --> 00:54:33.831
BUT THIS ONE DOESN\'T
GO AS PLANNED.

00:54:36.700 --> 00:54:39.098
THREE WEEKS AFTER
RESIDENTS REJECT WALMART\'S

00:54:39.133 --> 00:54:42.231
PROPOSAL, THE FRANKLIN
COMMUNITY CO-OP MAKES ITS

00:54:42.266 --> 00:54:45.465
RISKIEST MOVE EVER WHEN IT
TAKES OVER AN ABANDONED

00:54:45.500 --> 00:54:47.465
J.C. PENNY STOREFRONT.

00:54:47.500 --> 00:54:49.798
Well, it was a
J.C. Penny store,

00:54:49.833 --> 00:54:52.065
and we turned
it into a grocery store.

00:54:52.100 --> 00:54:54.931
All of the shelving and
all the coolers,

00:54:54.966 --> 00:54:58.498
all that had to be brought in.
We added bathrooms, added

00:54:58.533 --> 00:55:03.198
the office upstairs and
downstairs. We built a kitchen.

00:55:03.233 --> 00:55:06.431
Everyone was working for a
reduced wage.

00:55:06.466 --> 00:55:08.665
It\'s because it\'s ours and
we\'re running it

00:55:08.700 --> 00:55:11.231
ourselves, there\'s a huge
different,

00:55:11.266 --> 00:55:14.898
uh, emotional content.

00:55:14.933 --> 00:55:16.898
THE FRANKLIN
COMMUNITY CO-OP,

00:55:16.933 --> 00:55:19.198
ALSO CALLED THE GREEN
FIELDS MARKET,

00:55:19.233 --> 00:55:21.631
MOVES INTO A SPACE TEN
TIMES LARGER THAN ITS

00:55:21.666 --> 00:55:25.631
PREVIOUS LOCATION,
EXPANDING IN ALL AREAS AND

00:55:25.666 --> 00:55:28.765
ADDING A DELI
AND A BAKERY.

00:55:28.800 --> 00:55:31.798
THE CO-OP HAS A LIVABLE
WAGE POLICY AND EMPLOYEE

00:55:31.833 --> 00:55:35.331
PROFIT SHARING, PROVIDES A
COMMUNITY MEETING SPACE,

00:55:35.366 --> 00:55:38.098
AND A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER,
AND HAS BECOME

00:55:38.133 --> 00:55:41.298
A CENTER OF COMMUNITY LIFE.

00:55:41.333 --> 00:55:43.298
We are beginning to
appreciate the fact that

00:55:43.333 --> 00:55:46.165
we had created a business
that was community-owned,

00:55:46.200 --> 00:55:48.165
it was owned by the people
who used it,

00:55:48.200 --> 00:55:51.898
and was helping Greenfield
survive economically.

00:55:51.933 --> 00:55:54.865
Our cooperative business
was becoming an important

00:55:54.900 --> 00:55:58.965
part of the vitality of
the community as a whole.

00:55:59.000 --> 00:56:01.931
MY CO-OP\'S STORY IS
SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENED

00:56:01.966 --> 00:56:07.431
IN HUNDREDS OF COMMUNITIES
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

00:56:07.466 --> 00:56:10.431
USING THE PRINCIPLES OF
COOPERATION,

00:56:10.466 --> 00:56:13.265
PEOPLE STARTED SMALL
GROCERY STORES,

00:56:13.300 --> 00:56:21.631
WHICH THEY NURTURED INTO
MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESSES.

00:56:21.666 --> 00:56:24.698
THEY DEVELOPED BUSINESS
SKILLS AND BROUGHT NEW

00:56:24.733 --> 00:56:26.698
PRODUCTS TO THEIR
COMMUNITIES.

00:56:35.166 --> 00:56:38.731
SINCE THE MARKET CRASH OF
1929 THAT LAUNCHED THE

00:56:38.766 --> 00:56:45.331
GREATEST ECONOMIC CRISIS
IN U.S. HISTORY,

00:56:45.366 --> 00:56:47.731
WE\'VE HAD
FOURTEEN RECESSIONS --

00:56:47.766 --> 00:56:49.865
ONE EVERY SIX YEARS
ON AVERAGE.

00:56:52.466 --> 00:56:54.998
THE MOST RECENT MELTDOWN
NEARLY BROUGHT DOWN THE

00:56:55.033 --> 00:56:58.065
ENTIRE WORLDWIDE ECONOMY.

00:56:58.100 --> 00:57:00.098
THE ONLY THING THAT
PREVENTED ANOTHER GREAT

00:57:00.133 --> 00:57:02.798
DEPRESSION WAS THE
INFUSION OF BILLIONS OF

00:57:02.833 --> 00:57:06.098
DOLLARS OF PUBLIC FUNDS --
A SHOCKING CONTRADITION OF

00:57:06.133 --> 00:57:09.598
HOW THE \"FREE MARKET\" IS
SUPPOSED TO WORK.

00:57:09.633 --> 00:57:13.165
UNSTABLE SEISMIC FAULT
LINES APPEAR TO BE BUILT

00:57:13.200 --> 00:57:15.165
INTO OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM.

00:57:17.466 --> 00:57:20.198
IN SUCH SELF-CONTAINED,
SELF-ABSORBED,

00:57:20.233 --> 00:57:24.298
UNREFLECTIVE SYSTEMS, WITH
FEW CHECKS AND BALANCES

00:57:24.333 --> 00:57:26.798
AND A FEVERISH INTENSITY
TO BUILD INDIVIDUAL

00:57:26.833 --> 00:57:30.665
WEALTH, IT\'S EASY TO LOSE
YOUR MORAL BEARINGS.

00:57:30.700 --> 00:57:32.698
WHICH AFFECTS NEIGHBORHOODS
AND COMMUNITIES

00:57:32.733 --> 00:57:34.965
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

00:57:36.233 --> 00:57:39.565
I think as a result of all
of that, people have been

00:57:39.600 --> 00:57:41.565
looking at what society

00:57:41.600 --> 00:57:45.165
should we build that won\'t
have those kinds of

00:57:45.200 --> 00:57:48.898
mistakes happen, where our
money can be safe,

00:57:48.933 --> 00:57:50.865
where our jobs
can be safe,

00:57:50.900 --> 00:57:53.398
and I think that there\'s
been a huge amount of

00:57:53.433 --> 00:57:55.431
focus on local.

00:57:55.466 --> 00:57:58.198
What are we doing
locally, what can we do

00:57:58.233 --> 00:58:00.198
as individuals together?

00:58:00.233 --> 00:58:03.331
How can we help create
jobs in the local economy?

00:58:03.366 --> 00:58:07.098
How can we keep our savings
in the local economy?

00:58:07.133 --> 00:58:09.431
And every time that you
ask those kinds of

00:58:09.466 --> 00:58:13.865
questions, the cooperative
comes up as the most

00:58:13.900 --> 00:58:17.198
capable form of
economic organization.

00:58:20.666 --> 00:58:23.498
IF FOOD CO-OPS ARE TO HAVE
AN AFFECT ON THE LARGER

00:58:23.533 --> 00:58:26.498
ECONOMY, THEY WILL NEED TO
INCREASE THEIR SHARE OF

00:58:26.533 --> 00:58:28.865
THE MONEY PEOPLE
SPEND ON FOOD.

00:58:28.900 --> 00:58:30.865
TO SEE WHAT THAT MIGHT
LOOK LIKE,

00:58:30.900 --> 00:58:34.898
I WENT TO THE MINNEAPOLIS-ST.
PAUL REGION OF MINNESOTA.

00:58:34.933 --> 00:58:36.898
IN A STATE WITH THE
LARGEST NUMBER OF FOOD

00:58:36.933 --> 00:58:39.765
CO-OPS IN THE COUNTRY, THE
TWIN CITIES HAS ITS

00:58:39.800 --> 00:58:41.765
GREATEST CONCENTRATION.

00:58:41.800 --> 00:58:44.365
In Minnesota, co-ops are
really a part of our life

00:58:44.400 --> 00:58:47.331
because this is a really
rich area for cooperation.

00:58:47.366 --> 00:58:49.565
Everybody around here
knows what a co-op is.

00:58:49.600 --> 00:58:51.731
They just say the co-op,
you know,

00:58:51.766 --> 00:58:54.731
and they know you\'re talking
about a food co-op, even though,

00:58:54.766 --> 00:58:56.731
of course, there\'s many
other types of co-ops.

00:58:56.766 --> 00:58:58.965
But the food co-ops have a
high presence.

00:58:59.000 --> 00:59:01.931
We do business with not
only local producers and

00:59:01.966 --> 00:59:04.365
local growers, but other
people in the community,

00:59:04.400 --> 00:59:07.498
and so we\'re circulating
dollars in our community.

00:59:07.533 --> 00:59:09.931
The co-op builds wealth
for the community,

00:59:09.966 --> 00:59:12.898
not for any individual person.

00:59:12.933 --> 00:59:15.631
We became incredibly
successful on this very

00:59:15.666 --> 00:59:18.131
slow, gradual track.

00:59:18.166 --> 00:59:20.431
When this store opened
12 years ago,

00:59:20.466 --> 00:59:22.865
this lot had been vacant
for over 20 years,

00:59:22.900 --> 00:59:26.965
and it was a very blighted
corner in the community.

00:59:27.000 --> 00:59:30.165
We were able to hold true
to our values of

00:59:30.200 --> 00:59:32.631
delivering great service
and great food,

00:59:32.666 --> 00:59:34.631
focusing on the natural
and organic,

00:59:34.666 --> 00:59:38.298
the local products, and
build commercial success,

00:59:38.333 --> 00:59:40.298
and build our communities.

00:59:40.333 --> 00:59:43.298
IN A 25-MILE RADIUS OF THE
TWIN CITIES,

00:59:43.333 --> 00:59:46.365
TWELVE FOOD CO-OPS TOTAL
A HUNDRED THOUSAND MEMBERS,

00:59:46.400 --> 00:59:48.731
SIXTEEN HUNDRED
EMPLOYEES,

00:59:48.766 --> 00:59:53.365
AND GROSS SALES OF OVER
230 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

00:59:53.400 --> 00:59:56.331
THEIR COLLECTIVE POWER IS
PERHAPS MOST CLEARLY

00:59:56.366 --> 00:59:59.765
DEMONSTRATED BY THE
LARGEST OF THE GROUP.

00:59:59.800 --> 01:00:01.765
I worked in the
conventional grocery

01:00:01.800 --> 01:00:05.498
business for over twenty years,
in a conventional chain.

01:00:05.533 --> 01:00:08.931
The pressures are about putting
the money on the bottom line.

01:00:08.966 --> 01:00:11.531
And so if you don\'t have
your numbers in line,

01:00:11.566 --> 01:00:14.065
your gross margins, your
labor percents,

01:00:14.100 --> 01:00:16.831
your sales, you\'re not
really important.

01:00:19.166 --> 01:00:21.331
In a conventional world,
it\'s all about profits,

01:00:21.366 --> 01:00:23.331
the less people you have
working and the less

01:00:23.366 --> 01:00:26.365
benefits you\'re paying.

01:00:26.400 --> 01:00:30.065
In the co-op world, we\'re
doing the opposite.

01:00:30.100 --> 01:00:32.331
Seventy-five percent of
our staff are full-time,

01:00:32.366 --> 01:00:34.631
twenty-five are part-time.

01:00:34.666 --> 01:00:37.398
In a conventional world,
that\'s reversed.

01:00:37.433 --> 01:00:39.398
We\'ve got two hundred
and sixty people

01:00:39.433 --> 01:00:41.698
working here in this store.

01:00:41.733 --> 01:00:43.698
We\'ve never cut back our
workforce.

01:00:43.733 --> 01:00:47.531
In 2008, when the economy
went in the tank,

01:00:47.566 --> 01:00:49.665
we didn\'t lay off anybody.

01:00:49.700 --> 01:00:52.998
So that\'s a different kind
of stress than you have in

01:00:53.033 --> 01:00:57.498
a conventional chain, when
somebody is hammering you

01:00:57.533 --> 01:00:59.498
on a Friday morning,
that\'s picking up the

01:00:59.533 --> 01:01:01.565
phone and saying you\'re

01:01:01.600 --> 01:01:04.031
point zero one off your
labor dollar.

01:01:04.066 --> 01:01:08.165
Can you explain that to me
and tell me what that is?

01:01:08.200 --> 01:01:10.631
Pressures here are
self-induced to make sure

01:01:10.666 --> 01:01:13.798
that we never lose the
trust with our members,

01:01:13.833 --> 01:01:17.498
that we are what
we say we are.

01:01:17.533 --> 01:01:19.498
Because we\'re very
successful and we have

01:01:19.533 --> 01:01:21.765
this incredible growth,

01:01:21.800 --> 01:01:24.265
it gives us the
opportunity to do projects

01:01:24.300 --> 01:01:27.531
that we might not be able
to do otherwise.

01:01:27.566 --> 01:01:29.631
We have our own
distribution center.

01:01:29.666 --> 01:01:32.465
It\'s our growth
department.

01:01:32.500 --> 01:01:35.831
We expanded our warehouse
about five years ago from

01:01:35.866 --> 01:01:38.231
fifteen thousand square
feet to forty-five

01:01:38.266 --> 01:01:40.965
thousand square feet,
added a ninety-one-pallet

01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:43.198
space freezer;
we\'ve expanded

01:01:43.233 --> 01:01:46.198
into more dairy products.

01:01:46.233 --> 01:01:49.398
We purchase product to
sell to our co-ops.

01:01:49.433 --> 01:01:51.398
The Wedge guides us a
little bit.

01:01:51.433 --> 01:01:53.798
They know what they need,
but we also talk to the

01:01:53.833 --> 01:01:56.065
other stores to find out
what they need,

01:01:56.100 --> 01:01:59.131
and then we talk to the growers
to find out what they need.

01:01:59.166 --> 01:02:01.265
I farmed vegetables for
eleven years,

01:02:01.300 --> 01:02:04.731
and when I was farming,
price was the number one

01:02:04.766 --> 01:02:07.565
thing that the larger
stores wanted from us.

01:02:07.600 --> 01:02:09.765
They had all the cards,
all right.

01:02:09.800 --> 01:02:13.931
They dictated the price,
and so what you have is

01:02:13.966 --> 01:02:18.098
system where, depending on
how the buyer feels that

01:02:18.133 --> 01:02:20.265
way or what pressure he\'s
getting from his stores or

01:02:20.300 --> 01:02:24.331
from his customers, he can
knock you down pretty fast.

01:02:24.366 --> 01:02:28.998
And here at Co-op Partners
and in the co-op world,

01:02:29.033 --> 01:02:30.998
that doesn\'t happen.

01:02:31.033 --> 01:02:33.198
What we like to do here is
set our pricing with our

01:02:33.233 --> 01:02:35.698
farmers in the winter, and
then we stick to it unless

01:02:35.733 --> 01:02:37.698
it\'s a bad year,
and then we can

01:02:37.733 --> 01:02:41.465
negotiate and we can go
up. It\'s important that we pay

01:02:41.500 --> 01:02:43.798
enough for what
their product is.

01:02:43.833 --> 01:02:45.798
If you have a set
price as a farmer,

01:02:45.833 --> 01:02:48.498
you\'re spending as if
you\'re going to get that

01:02:48.533 --> 01:02:53.031
money, and so it can be a killer
if somebody drops price on you.

01:02:53.066 --> 01:02:56.765
The co-ops will allow us
to spend a little bit more

01:02:56.800 --> 01:03:00.665
to support a small grower
because we have to make

01:03:00.700 --> 01:03:04.598
sure that they can afford
to stay in business.

01:03:04.633 --> 01:03:08.298
There\'s been this huge
consolidation of grocery

01:03:08.333 --> 01:03:11.265
distribution centers in
the natural food world.

01:03:11.300 --> 01:03:16.998
That\'s, um, food
for thought.

01:03:17.033 --> 01:03:19.365
THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE
GROCERY BUSINESS,

01:03:19.400 --> 01:03:21.998
BY A FEW MAJOR
CORPORATIONS,

01:03:22.033 --> 01:03:24.665
IS AFFECTING THE ENTIRE
U.S. FOOD SUPPLY --

01:03:24.700 --> 01:03:27.631
A TREND KNOWN AS THE
HOURGLASS EFFECT.

01:03:27.666 --> 01:03:29.931
ABOVE ARE TWO
MILLION FARMS,

01:03:29.966 --> 01:03:32.465
BELOW ARE THREE HUNDRED
MILLION AMERICANS WHO EAT

01:03:32.500 --> 01:03:35.665
THE FOOD THEY GROW. DURING
THE LAST TWENTY YEARS,

01:03:35.700 --> 01:03:38.131
THE CHANNEL BY WHICH FOOD
IS DELIVERED TO GROCERY

01:03:38.166 --> 01:03:42.698
STORES HAS BECOME SMALLER
AND SMALLER.

01:03:42.733 --> 01:03:45.531
CO-OPS ARE ONE OF THE FEW
BUSINESSES FIGHTING TO

01:03:45.566 --> 01:03:49.231
OPPOSE THE GROWING CONTROL OF
BOTH OUR FOOD AND OUR ECONOMY.

01:03:49.266 --> 01:03:53.531
When you have agricultural
systems that are just

01:03:53.566 --> 01:03:57.631
exploiting at the lowest
per cost unit possible to

01:03:57.666 --> 01:04:00.698
make the price low, the
inputs that are used to

01:04:00.733 --> 01:04:04.231
keep that land productive
are such that there are

01:04:04.266 --> 01:04:06.898
costs to the system that
aren\'t accounted for,

01:04:06.933 --> 01:04:08.898
that we\'re paying for.

01:04:08.933 --> 01:04:11.431
Rivers full of silt,
Louisiana has a dead zone

01:04:11.466 --> 01:04:13.565
that\'s huge, and
you can\'t drink

01:04:13.600 --> 01:04:15.631
well water in
the state of Iowa.

01:04:15.666 --> 01:04:18.898
So there\'s human health,
there\'s planet health,

01:04:18.933 --> 01:04:21.131
that are also at stake.

01:04:21.166 --> 01:04:24.331
The thing that often gets
lost in economic activity

01:04:24.366 --> 01:04:26.031
is the human element.

01:04:26.066 --> 01:04:28.898
The people involved
in the economy.

01:04:28.933 --> 01:04:32.165
IN THE TWIN CITIES, THE
HIGH PRESENCE OF CO-OPS

01:04:32.200 --> 01:04:34.798
TRANSLATES INTO THE MARKET
POWER NEEDED TO OPPOSE

01:04:34.833 --> 01:04:38.298
CORPORATE CONTROL BY
SUPPORTING AN INCREASING

01:04:38.333 --> 01:04:41.531
NUMBER OF REGIONAL FOOD
SOURCES AND NURTURING A

01:04:41.566 --> 01:04:43.531
NEW GENERATION OF FARMERS.

01:04:46.066 --> 01:04:51.531
This will be our fifth
season of operating the farm.

01:04:51.566 --> 01:04:53.531
Our farm is a
teaching farm,

01:04:53.566 --> 01:04:57.098
and so we\'re always
looking to make sure that

01:04:57.133 --> 01:04:59.098
our farmers that are
working there are getting

01:04:59.133 --> 01:05:01.731
the knowledge that they
need so that when they

01:05:01.766 --> 01:05:03.898
make their big decision to
go out and farm on their

01:05:03.933 --> 01:05:07.498
own, we\'ve given them the
tools to be able to do that.

01:05:07.533 --> 01:05:09.765
And that\'s a different
kind of farm than just

01:05:09.800 --> 01:05:11.931
hiring people to be
farm workers.

01:05:11.966 --> 01:05:14.931
In Minneapolis-St. Paul,
it is the clustering

01:05:14.966 --> 01:05:17.998
of cooperatives that tend

01:05:18.033 --> 01:05:22.998
to bring a second level of
energy to the cooperative world,

01:05:26.066 --> 01:05:29.431
by coming together
to do projects together,

01:05:29.466 --> 01:05:33.998
to support secondary
activities such as education.

01:05:34.033 --> 01:05:37.065
Most of us would not like
to eat it like an apple.

01:05:37.100 --> 01:05:40.831
Mississippi Market and the
Wedge started a non-profit

01:05:40.866 --> 01:05:44.998
educational organization
that taught kids in the

01:05:45.033 --> 01:05:47.531
elementary schools
about food.

01:05:47.566 --> 01:05:49.865
And they really have the kids

01:05:49.900 --> 01:05:52.431
excited about eating
fresh food.

01:05:52.466 --> 01:05:54.865
I was hired by the two
co-ops, to do the work.

01:05:54.900 --> 01:05:57.198
And then, other co-ops
jumped on board.

01:05:57.233 --> 01:05:58.231
and now we\'re up to six.

01:05:58.266 --> 01:06:00.231
And so, the six food
co-ops that give between

01:06:00.266 --> 01:06:02.698
fifteen and thirty thousand
dollars a year to our program.

01:06:02.733 --> 01:06:04.731
So we hit around six,
seven thousand kids a year

01:06:04.766 --> 01:06:06.698
now, at forty or
fifty schools.

01:06:06.733 --> 01:06:09.865
Well, what do you like
about having a garden?

01:06:09.900 --> 01:06:12.998
We can get a lot of stuff
from there,

01:06:13.033 --> 01:06:16.498
like, lot of food, and
maybe some fruits from

01:06:16.533 --> 01:06:19.498
there, so we don\'t have to
buy it from the store,

01:06:19.533 --> 01:06:22.465
and we can just
grow it fresh.

01:06:22.500 --> 01:06:26.365
How\'s it taste?
Is it any different?

01:06:26.400 --> 01:06:28.598
Not that much.

01:06:28.633 --> 01:06:31.498
The environment with multiple
co-ops creates a dynamic.

01:06:31.533 --> 01:06:34.098
There are new co-ops
starting,

01:06:34.133 --> 01:06:36.398
older co-ops that are
expanding and adding

01:06:36.433 --> 01:06:38.598
membership and moving
into new stores.

01:06:38.633 --> 01:06:40.598
The successful co-ops are
really looking for

01:06:40.633 --> 01:06:43.031
opportunities to support
new co-ops,

01:06:43.066 --> 01:06:46.031
seeing what can they do to
support the success of

01:06:46.066 --> 01:06:48.031
co-ops not just in the
Twin Cities but in the

01:06:48.066 --> 01:06:50.865
surrounding area.

01:06:50.900 --> 01:06:54.098
Eastside Co-op
opened in 2003.

01:06:54.133 --> 01:06:56.098
We had two
co-ops loan us money,

01:06:56.133 --> 01:06:59.731
and one co-op just
outright give us money.

01:06:59.766 --> 01:07:02.198
We were opened by
community members who had

01:07:02.233 --> 01:07:04.398
been told that this
neighborhood didn\'t have

01:07:04.433 --> 01:07:06.398
the demographics to
support a co-op.

01:07:06.433 --> 01:07:09.998
These folks, this band of
cooperators knew that

01:07:10.033 --> 01:07:11.998
that\'s what they wanted.

01:07:12.033 --> 01:07:13.998
They wanted a
natural food store,

01:07:14.033 --> 01:07:15.998
they wanted it on
Central Avenue,

01:07:16.033 --> 01:07:17.965
which is the Main Street
of northeast Minneapolis,

01:07:18.000 --> 01:07:21.498
and they wanted it
community-owned.

01:07:21.533 --> 01:07:23.498
Like a lot of Main
Streets,

01:07:23.533 --> 01:07:26.865
the big box outlets that
came in really wiped out a

01:07:26.900 --> 01:07:28.931
lot of the storefronts.

01:07:28.966 --> 01:07:30.398
And if you drive up and down

01:07:30.433 --> 01:07:31.998
Central Avenue,
you\'ll see that.

01:07:32.033 --> 01:07:33.998
And we decided we were not
only going to build our

01:07:34.033 --> 01:07:36.198
store out here, we were
going to buy the property,

01:07:36.233 --> 01:07:39.565
we were going to plant a
flag on Central Avenue,

01:07:39.600 --> 01:07:41.965
we were gonna stay here.

01:07:42.000 --> 01:07:43.998
We own a twelve thousand
square foot-building,

01:07:44.033 --> 01:07:46.065
so from the very beginning
we were thinking about

01:07:46.100 --> 01:07:48.731
growth and expansion.
Right now we\'re going to

01:07:48.766 --> 01:07:52.198
do about five point seven
million sales this year.

01:07:52.233 --> 01:07:53.998
When we opened
eight years ago,

01:07:54.033 --> 01:07:55.498
we, were a
two million-do l lar s tore,

01:07:55.533 --> 01:07:57.498
so we\'re growing
pretty fast.

01:07:57.533 --> 01:07:59.498
We have
thirty-six hundred members,

01:07:59.533 --> 01:08:01.831
and we started with
twenty-six employees,

01:08:01.866 --> 01:08:03.965
and now we\'re at
fifty-six employees.

01:08:04.000 --> 01:08:07.931
Our board has a
commitment to living wage,

01:08:07.966 --> 01:08:10.731
health insurance
for all employees.

01:08:10.766 --> 01:08:14.165
You know, it\'s a way to sort of,
again, take back the community.

01:08:14.200 --> 01:08:16.298
There\'s all those
businesses out there that

01:08:16.333 --> 01:08:18.765
just want to take what
they can out of the

01:08:18.800 --> 01:08:22.865
community and walk away,
because their shareholders

01:08:22.900 --> 01:08:27.865
and their stakeholders are
elsewhere. Ours are right here.

01:08:27.900 --> 01:08:30.865
When we opened, the two
co-ops closest to us both

01:08:30.900 --> 01:08:32.865
had double-digit
growth that year.

01:08:32.900 --> 01:08:34.865
We didn\'t take away any
market share of those,

01:08:34.900 --> 01:08:36.898
and from what I can tell,
none of the co-ops do.

01:08:36.933 --> 01:08:40.065
We all grow, and we don\'t
cannibalize each other.

01:08:40.100 --> 01:08:43.565
We just get our message
out and have more and more

01:08:43.600 --> 01:08:46.931
people want to be a
part of that.

01:08:46.966 --> 01:08:50.298
What we\'re trying
to do is to sustain

01:08:50.333 --> 01:08:52.531
a community of
shared values.

01:08:52.566 --> 01:08:55.598
Values that are dedicated
to clean environment,

01:08:55.633 --> 01:08:57.598
equitable economic
relationships,

01:08:57.633 --> 01:08:59.931
socially responsible
business practices.

01:08:59.966 --> 01:09:01.731
Groceries are the
means in which

01:09:01.766 --> 01:09:03.865
we\'re accomplishing
our mission.

01:09:03.900 --> 01:09:06.965
But ultimately, the real
cost of food is such that

01:09:07.000 --> 01:09:11.131
if you want to have a
situation or an economic

01:09:11.166 --> 01:09:13.765
system that doesn\'t
exploit individuals,

01:09:13.800 --> 01:09:14.931
there has to be
fairness in that

01:09:14.966 --> 01:09:15.931
price so that the farmer can

01:09:15.966 --> 01:09:17.798
stay on the land,
and gather the

01:09:17.833 --> 01:09:19.498
price that\'s higher than they

01:09:19.533 --> 01:09:22.798
might find in a
mass-produced environment.

01:09:22.833 --> 01:09:24.798
And all that\'s really
driven by just the

01:09:24.833 --> 01:09:29.031
fundamental need for
equitability in the economy.

01:09:29.066 --> 01:09:31.798
And trying to make sure
that throughout that chain

01:09:31.833 --> 01:09:34.465
that individuals who are
making food,

01:09:34.500 --> 01:09:37.165
all are benefiting fairly.

01:09:37.200 --> 01:09:39.731
IN THE SAME WAY THAT
CO-OPS INTRODUCED ORGANIC

01:09:39.766 --> 01:09:41.798
FOOD TO THE PUBLIC
IN THE 1970s,

01:09:41.833 --> 01:09:46.265
THEY ARE TODAY TRYING TO
ESTABLISH LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS

01:09:46.300 --> 01:09:50.098
AND ECONOMIC FAIRNESS.

01:09:50.133 --> 01:09:52.098
THE GOOD NEWS IS, THEY DON\'T
NEED TO TAKE OVER

01:09:52.133 --> 01:09:54.098
THE MARKET TO DO IT.

01:09:54.133 --> 01:09:56.631
BY ATTAINING ONLY TWO
PERCENT OF THE GROCERY

01:09:56.666 --> 01:09:59.931
BUSINESS IN THE TWIN CITIES
AREA, CO-OPS HAVE SET A HIGHER

01:09:59.966 --> 01:10:02.531
STANDARD FOR THE ENTIRE REGION.

01:10:02.566 --> 01:10:05.165
When cooperatives become a
certain proportion of the

01:10:05.200 --> 01:10:09.565
trade in a community, then
all of the other retailers

01:10:09.600 --> 01:10:12.398
begin to do a lot of what
the cooperative is doing,

01:10:12.433 --> 01:10:14.398
repeat what the
cooperative is doing,

01:10:14.433 --> 01:10:17.065
support what the
cooperative is doing.

01:10:17.100 --> 01:10:19.665
SO APPEALING IS THE IDEA
OF PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER

01:10:19.700 --> 01:10:21.665
TO BUILD LOCAL ECONOMIES,

01:10:21.700 --> 01:10:24.531
THAT CO-OPS ARE
AGAIN ON THE RISE.

01:10:24.566 --> 01:10:27.431
SEVENTY FOOD CO-OPS HAVE
OPENED IN THE LAST SIX

01:10:27.466 --> 01:10:34.365
YEARS, AND OVER 100 ARE IN
DEVELOPMENT IN 32 STATES.

01:10:34.400 --> 01:10:36.998
I got involved with
starting this food co-op

01:10:37.033 --> 01:10:39.698
just about four years ago.

01:10:39.733 --> 01:10:42.598
I was a student at Antioch
University of New England

01:10:42.633 --> 01:10:44.631
and I was trying to think
about a project that would

01:10:44.666 --> 01:10:47.465
be meaningful and give
back to the community.

01:10:47.500 --> 01:10:49.898
I liked the farmland, I
was drawn here for that

01:10:49.933 --> 01:10:52.131
reason, and then I
realized that it would be

01:10:52.166 --> 01:10:55.198
really amazing to have a
food co-op in our area.

01:10:59.033 --> 01:11:01.298
I was looking at what was
happening nationally in

01:11:01.333 --> 01:11:04.065
terms of distribution of
wealth and power,

01:11:04.100 --> 01:11:08.165
and a strong need to take
back more control.

01:11:08.200 --> 01:11:11.965
To me, looking around and
feeling often powerless in

01:11:12.000 --> 01:11:13.965
even the local government
system and certainly the

01:11:14.000 --> 01:11:15.965
national government
system,

01:11:16.000 --> 01:11:17.998
I was like, wow, this is a
way where a group of

01:11:18.033 --> 01:11:22.165
individuals can come
together and work

01:11:22.200 --> 01:11:24.165
democratically to achieve

01:11:24.200 --> 01:11:26.165
something that
meets their needs.

01:11:26.200 --> 01:11:30.865
And we got together a co-op
committee back in April 2008.

01:11:30.900 --> 01:11:33.298
I had no idea what I was
getting into.

01:11:33.333 --> 01:11:35.298
Co-ops face different
challenges than they have

01:11:35.333 --> 01:11:38.765
in the past because
there\'s so much more

01:11:38.800 --> 01:11:43.398
competition in the natural
food industry that there

01:11:43.433 --> 01:11:45.365
has to be a different
niche for co-ops.

01:11:45.400 --> 01:11:48.065
And I think that niche
is local food.

01:11:48.100 --> 01:11:50.198
How do you create
a business that

01:11:50.233 --> 01:11:52.031
represents a
thousand people?

01:11:52.066 --> 01:11:56.465
How do you provide food at
an accessible price while

01:11:56.500 --> 01:11:59.865
at the same time compensating
farmers at a fair price?

01:11:59.900 --> 01:12:03.231
It relates to community
and society in a model

01:12:03.266 --> 01:12:05.698
that brings
together doctors,

01:12:05.733 --> 01:12:09.031
lawyers, community
organizers, farmers.

01:12:09.066 --> 01:12:11.398
To me, that\'s how co-ops
and corporations really

01:12:11.433 --> 01:12:13.965
differ, is that democratic
control.

01:12:14.000 --> 01:12:16.065
If you ask me what I\'ve
done for the last four

01:12:16.100 --> 01:12:18.031
years, it\'s community
organizing,

01:12:18.066 --> 01:12:20.765
and it\'s relationship
building.

01:12:20.800 --> 01:12:23.265
When you look out and see
all these people working

01:12:23.300 --> 01:12:25.265
together with
different ideas,

01:12:25.300 --> 01:12:30.565
that spirit of joy over the work
that we\'re all doing together.

01:12:30.600 --> 01:12:32.565
True relationships and
friendships have been

01:12:32.600 --> 01:12:37.431
built, and that is pretty
exciting work.

01:12:37.466 --> 01:12:39.898
I\'ve never been involved
in a co-op before.

01:12:39.933 --> 01:12:43.098
I came out of that more
traditional capitalist model.

01:12:43.133 --> 01:12:48.531
The idea of what I would
consider to be competing

01:12:48.566 --> 01:12:52.898
organizations getting
together to benefit the

01:12:52.933 --> 01:12:56.665
overall movement is
totally foreign to me.

01:12:56.700 --> 01:12:58.631
We\'ve had the
Brattleboro Co-op,

01:12:58.666 --> 01:13:00.231
the Hanover
Lebanon Co-ops,

01:13:00.266 --> 01:13:02.931
Putney Co-op, other co-ops
down in Massachusetts and

01:13:02.966 --> 01:13:05.965
Vermont, reach out to us
as a start-up co-op and

01:13:06.000 --> 01:13:07.965
say what can we do
to help you.

01:13:08.000 --> 01:13:11.865
That\'s very unusual from
the normal capitalistic

01:13:11.900 --> 01:13:14.031
approach to business
because you\'re just

01:13:14.066 --> 01:13:16.031
strengthening your
competitor.

01:13:16.066 --> 01:13:18.098
Your mission is to
beat them.

01:13:18.133 --> 01:13:21.965
Co-ops are different
than that because it\'s about

01:13:22.000 --> 01:13:24.831
having co-ops
cooperate with each other,

01:13:24.866 --> 01:13:27.565
is just better for the
movement overall.

01:13:34.433 --> 01:13:36.431
I think co-ops elevate
people to care,

01:13:36.466 --> 01:13:39.498
to become active where
they can see a tangible

01:13:39.533 --> 01:13:42.031
benefit right
before their eyes.

01:13:42.066 --> 01:13:44.031
It doesn\'t surprise me at
all that there\'s this new

01:13:44.066 --> 01:13:45.765
wave of growth in
co-ops because

01:13:45.800 --> 01:13:47.731
it\'s so much more
than a food store.

01:13:47.766 --> 01:13:52.165
Welcome to our first ever
annual meeting for

01:13:52.200 --> 01:13:54.531
Monadnock Community
Market Co-op.

01:13:54.566 --> 01:13:56.531
This time last year
in August,

01:13:56.566 --> 01:13:58.498
we had a hundred and one
founding member owners.

01:13:58.533 --> 01:14:01.465
We now have seven hundred and
sixty founding member owners.

01:14:01.500 --> 01:14:04.331
So to see that growth
happen and to see the type

01:14:04.366 --> 01:14:07.365
of people that joined and
the diversity of people

01:14:07.400 --> 01:14:09.398
coming to the table, I
don\'t see anything else

01:14:09.433 --> 01:14:12.098
that exists like that.
We\'re just waiting for our

01:14:12.133 --> 01:14:13.465
building plans to pass,

01:14:13.500 --> 01:14:16.531
and we\'ll break ground to
build a thirteen thousand

01:14:16.566 --> 01:14:19.331
square foot-food co-op
right in downtown Keene.

01:14:23.233 --> 01:14:25.531
TO SEE WHAT NEW CO-OPS ARE
ACCOMPLISHING,

01:14:25.566 --> 01:14:27.965
I TRAVELED FIFTY MILES
SOUTH OF THE MONADNOCK

01:14:28.000 --> 01:14:30.998
CO-OP TO ONE OF THE FIRST
OF THE NEW WAVE CO-OPS.

01:14:31.033 --> 01:14:33.965
The people that started
this store were wanting to

01:14:34.000 --> 01:14:37.465
support a strong local
economy based on food.

01:14:37.500 --> 01:14:40.331
We started eight years ago,
our first year our sales

01:14:40.366 --> 01:14:42.431
were eight point one million,
and we\'re on track this

01:14:42.466 --> 01:14:46.098
year for twenty-seven
million in sales.

01:14:46.133 --> 01:14:48.298
We have about a hundred
and and fifty employees,

01:14:48.333 --> 01:14:50.998
a hundred and thirty-five
of those are full-time.

01:14:51.033 --> 01:14:53.965
Last year, we spent five point
four million dollars

01:14:54.000 --> 01:14:58.298
purchasing products from nearly
four hundred local vendors.

01:14:58.333 --> 01:15:01.165
Between purchasing from
local farmers,

01:15:01.200 --> 01:15:03.865
local employment, we\'ve
got over eleven million

01:15:03.900 --> 01:15:07.431
dollars going back into
the local economy.

01:15:07.466 --> 01:15:10.931
Capitalism does work, but
it tends to funnel the

01:15:10.966 --> 01:15:13.498
wealth into just a
few people.

01:15:13.533 --> 01:15:15.998
And then, a lot of people
that are producing and

01:15:16.033 --> 01:15:18.465
doing the work, they\'re
actually struggling just

01:15:18.500 --> 01:15:20.498
to have a living wage.

01:15:20.533 --> 01:15:22.931
In a cooperative, we don\'t
want to do that.

01:15:22.966 --> 01:15:25.865
Rather than just taking
the money and funneling

01:15:25.900 --> 01:15:28.765
it, and then funneling it
away from other people,

01:15:28.800 --> 01:15:31.031
we want it to be equal,
more equal,

01:15:31.066 --> 01:15:33.165
more on a level basis, so
everybody can live,

01:15:33.200 --> 01:15:35.998
so everybody can eat well,
so everybody can be

01:15:36.033 --> 01:15:38.531
comfortable and feel safe.

01:15:38.566 --> 01:15:41.798
IN MY PART OF THE COUNTRY,
NEW AND ESTABLISHED CO-OPS

01:15:41.833 --> 01:15:44.098
ARE EXPANDING THEIR
CONNECTIONS WITH LOCAL

01:15:44.133 --> 01:15:46.965
FARMERS AND FOOD
PROCESSORS IN AN EFFORT TO

01:15:47.000 --> 01:15:49.898
DEVELOP A REGIONAL
FOOD-BASED ECONOMY.

01:15:49.933 --> 01:15:52.898
If we want to have ideals,
that\'s fine.

01:15:52.933 --> 01:15:55.131
But if we want to have a
commonwealth,

01:15:55.166 --> 01:15:58.765
we\'ve got to build a
cooperative system that

01:15:58.800 --> 01:16:02.398
creates that commonwealth
because that is what will

01:16:02.433 --> 01:16:05.231
give us the strength to be
more effective in the

01:16:05.266 --> 01:16:07.531
marketplace, to serve
more people,

01:16:07.566 --> 01:16:10.931
and to have our ideals
mean something.

01:16:13.233 --> 01:16:15.831
By creating structures
that are based on a

01:16:15.866 --> 01:16:18.465
commonwealth model, you\'re
building a structure

01:16:18.500 --> 01:16:22.231
that\'s going to be here
for many generations.

01:16:22.266 --> 01:16:25.831
It\'s not at the whims of
what stock prices happen

01:16:25.866 --> 01:16:29.231
to be, CEOs\' decisions
around what\'s going to

01:16:29.266 --> 01:16:31.765
make a good bottom line in
this financial quarter.

01:16:31.800 --> 01:16:34.931
It really is driven by the
commitment of a community

01:16:34.966 --> 01:16:37.565
towards a common purpose.

01:16:37.600 --> 01:16:41.465
IT COMES DOWN TO THE ISSUE
OF POWER AND CONTROL:

01:16:41.500 --> 01:16:44.565
WHO OWNS WHAT, AND WHOM DO
THEY SERVE.

01:16:44.600 --> 01:16:47.031
A SOCIETY THAT SQUANDERS
ITS WEALTH PRODUCING

01:16:47.066 --> 01:16:50.498
WEAPONS FOR WAR AND
UNHEALTHY FOOD WILL NOT

01:16:50.533 --> 01:16:52.498
HAVE A LONG SHELF LIFE.

01:16:52.533 --> 01:16:54.865
SO I SEARCH FOR THE
ALTERNATIVE.

01:16:54.900 --> 01:16:57.998
LIKE ANY INFORMED SHOPPER,
I WANT GOOD VALUE FOR MY

01:16:58.033 --> 01:17:02.165
MONEY: HEALTHY FOOD, AN
EMPHASIS ON PEOPLE OVER

01:17:02.200 --> 01:17:06.365
PROFITS, AND THE ONGOING
OF CARE OF LAND,

01:17:06.400 --> 01:17:08.365
WATER AND AIR.

01:17:09.633 --> 01:17:12.165
IF WE WANT TO CHANGE HOW
WE DO BUSINESS,

01:17:12.200 --> 01:17:16.431
AND HOW WE LIVE, FOOD IS A
GOOD PLACE TO START.

01:17:27.166 --> 01:17:29.131
Started growing sprouts in
my cellar.

01:17:29.166 --> 01:17:31.131
It\'s an easy thing to do

01:17:31.166 --> 01:17:33.131
if everything goes right, it\'s
easy.

01:17:33.166 --> 01:17:35.565
You, you can talk to a lot
of my customers,

01:17:35.600 --> 01:17:39.365
all of them in fact, ask
\'em what I am.

01:17:39.400 --> 01:17:42.665
I\'m not only the sprout
man, I\'m their good friend.

01:17:42.700 --> 01:17:45.998
Co-ops and I have got along
very well, very well.

01:17:46.033 --> 01:17:50.031
I have never ever had, had
a problem with \'em.

01:17:50.066 --> 01:17:53.265
We started when the market
was on Chapman Street.

01:17:53.300 --> 01:17:56.531
It was a very small store. It
was like a one-room schoolhouse.

01:17:56.566 --> 01:17:58.531
It was not a big deal.

01:17:58.566 --> 01:18:02.365
They were a, a
touchy-feely operation.

01:18:02.400 --> 01:18:06.065
I mean, it was, it was, it
was like a love.

01:18:06.100 --> 01:18:09.731
They were more involved
with people than they were

01:18:09.766 --> 01:18:11.731
with making money.

01:18:11.766 --> 01:18:14.565
They, they, they, they
made money as an aside as

01:18:14.600 --> 01:18:16.565
far as I could figure out.

01:18:16.600 --> 01:18:20.598
That everybody was gonna have
a say in how they operated.

01:18:20.633 --> 01:18:22.631
But they had no idea what
the hell they were doing.

01:18:22.666 --> 01:18:24.631
They were definitely a
hippie operation.

01:18:24.666 --> 01:18:26.898
I can remember going
into to deliver

01:18:26.933 --> 01:18:28.698
and there was nobody around.

01:18:28.733 --> 01:18:30.998
They were they were all in
the office doing whatever.

01:18:31.033 --> 01:18:33.231
They could come there and
they could,

01:18:33.266 --> 01:18:35.431
they could bring their
babies in and,

01:18:35.466 --> 01:18:37.431
and nurse \'em
while they were,

01:18:37.466 --> 01:18:41.031
were doing their, their, their
shopping and nobody gave a shit.

01:18:41.066 --> 01:18:44.665
And I and I, I remember
breaking in when I

01:18:44.700 --> 01:18:48.098
shouldn\'t have a
couple times.

01:18:48.133 --> 01:18:50.098
But, but now they\'re
married and,

01:18:50.133 --> 01:18:52.098
and, and they are
one of the,

01:18:52.133 --> 01:18:55.865
movers and the shakers
of this whole operation.

01:18:55.900 --> 01:18:59.598
Then when they came onto Main
Street, you get into high gear.

01:18:59.633 --> 01:19:03.298
They, they had something to
sell in there, good food.

01:19:03.333 --> 01:19:05.498
They wanted to have it as
reasonable as possible.

01:19:05.533 --> 01:19:07.798
And they wanted everybody
to get in on the act.

01:19:07.833 --> 01:19:10.365
The people are the ones
that are saying what we\'re

01:19:10.400 --> 01:19:12.531
gonna do about this whole
operation.

01:19:12.566 --> 01:19:14.531
A co-op, that\'s why it\'s a
co-op.

01:19:14.566 --> 01:19:17.931
Kids had ideas. The
people owned

01:19:17.966 --> 01:19:20.965
the business, but they\'re
active in it.

01:19:21.000 --> 01:19:23.131
It\'s a different concept
altogether.

01:19:23.166 --> 01:19:25.131
Oh you wouldn\'t think so
if you went in there to

01:19:25.166 --> 01:19:27.665
buy something, unless you
knew what I\'m telling you

01:19:27.700 --> 01:19:32.665
and, and I\'m right. The
whole thing is, I like it.

01:19:32.700 --> 01:19:34.665
Brattleboro Market is the
same way.

01:19:34.700 --> 01:19:39.198
Brattleboro Co-op is one hell
of an operation up there now.

01:19:39.233 --> 01:19:43.031
Every co-op that I know,
they all were hippies.

01:19:43.066 --> 01:19:46.265
They all started as hippies.
Every damn one of \'em.

01:19:46.300 --> 01:19:48.265
And I found out that they
weren\'t different at all.

01:19:48.300 --> 01:19:50.265
They were the same as I.

01:19:50.300 --> 01:19:52.998
So all, all these places
now are getting big.

01:19:53.033 --> 01:19:57.131
And I tell you I never have,
if I were a bettin\' person,

01:19:57.166 --> 01:20:02.565
I never ever woulda
bet that, that it would.

01:20:02.600 --> 01:20:04.565
Twenty years later, they,

01:20:04.600 --> 01:20:08.298
they bought McCuskers.
They just built that.

01:20:08.333 --> 01:20:13.265
Opened it this week.

01:20:13.300 --> 01:20:16.098
And I don\'t know, I
wouldn\'t be surprised if

01:20:16.133 --> 01:20:18.165
there\'s something else out
in the in the background

01:20:18.200 --> 01:20:20.165
that they\'re gonna do.

01:20:20.200 --> 01:20:22.198
I don\'t believe this thing
has ended at all.

01:20:22.233 --> 01:20:24.165
I think it\'s just
starting.

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Food For Change

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