TV Alert!

Tonight, NIGHTLINE (11:35 on ABC) will feature the reporting of Bill Weir in Zambia.

BLACK GOLD, the renowned documentary about Ethiopia's struggle to establish fair trade and trademarks on their most prominent growing areas is being aired on PBS, via their documentary series, INDEPENDENT LENS.

You can read more about BLACK GOLD and check your local airtimes HERE.

The Great Starbucks Debate!

In February, Starbucks officials said they wouldn't oppose efforts of Ethiopian farmers to trademark their coffees.

Oxfam later said, "Starbucks has balked at signing a voluntary licensing agreement and has refused to engage in good-faith discussions with Ethiopia about the trademarking initiative."

Frankly, I don't know what to think about the whole Starbucks dust-up. I've followed it closely. It seems to be this: Starbucks holds copyright on some "brands" of Ethiopian coffee beans (Ethiopia being the birthplace of coffee.) Oxfam is a British-based non-profit that is helping to organize collectives for "fair trade" -- the selling of goods at above-market prices. People who dig the free market feel this is tantamount to socialist-style price fixing. Other people (including the humanitarian arm of the Catholic and Lutheran churches), feel it is protecting the dignity of farmers and helping to strengthen democracy.

Currently, Oxfam is supporting the Ethiopian government's attempt to copyright four "brands" of beans, based on where they are grown, (the same way that the Champagne area of France has a copyright on their "brand" of sparking wine).

Starbucks, a company that tries to have a very "responsible" corporate identity, was accused of using back-channel pressure to prevent this from happening. They denied it, but always added that they felt their corporate attempts at educating farmers on better growing practices would be better for the farmers than these Oxfam-style collectives and that they paid above-market for their beans, anyway. Sincere or corporate smokescreen - anybody know?

Finally, Starbucks vowed publicly that they wouldn't interfere (don't know if they ever admitted that they HAD interfered...?)

IF ANYBODY OUT THERE KNOWS MORE, COMMENT!!!

Starbucks targeted by Boston nonprofit
New Mexico Business Weekly - 2:31 PM MDT Wednesday, March 21, 2007

On the day of its annual shareholders meeting in Seattle, Starbucks Corp. has been targeted by a Boston-based nonprofit that's working to help Ethiopian coffee farmers trademark their coffees.

In full-page ads Wednesday in The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oxfam America of Boston said Seattle coffee giant Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) "refuses to sign an agreement recognizing Ethiopia's ownership of the trademarks of the country's coffees."

Oxfam says it's working with the farmers to obtain trademarks of famous Ethiopian coffees, including Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe.

Obtaining the trademarks, Oxfam officials said, would give "farmers a greater share of the retail value of their coffees."

"If Starbucks is seriously committed to humanity, it needs to change its position and agree to negotiate a licensing agreement with Ethiopia that respects its ownership of its unique coffee trademarks," said Seth Petchers of Oxfam, in a statement.

In February, Starbucks officials said they wouldn't oppose efforts of Ethiopian farmers to trademark their coffees.

Oxfam later said, "Starbucks has balked at signing a voluntary licensing agreement and has refused to engage in good-faith discussions with Ethiopia about the trademarking initiative."

This story was first reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal, an affiliated publication.