Fair Trade was created by farmers co-ops and facilitated by consumer co-ops, include The Co-op, owned by 3 million workers and members in the UK.  Operating many businesses, including conventional convenience stores, they have been a part of the mainstreaming of Fair Trade in the UK. And now they are moving into the fast-shifting world of film distribution, starting with hard-hitting docs about Burma and the decline of the worldwide bee population.

My organization recently hosted a conference on "The Mystery of [Film] Distribution" addressing how the collapse of the old distribution system and the advent of Web 2.0 is opening up opportunities for independet filmmakers to connect to audiences directly.  Our keynote speaker, Peter Broderick, was a consultant to the makers of King Corn and The Future of Food, two great food documentaries that have shown the power of this new approach to distribution.

It's exciting to see co-ops move in where corporations have failed.  Let's keep it up!