Why the cooperative model is a revolution | Melanie Shellito | TEDxIWU

After finding herself with a diagnosis with few treatment options, Melanie Shellito found she could support her health by eating more whole foods. Her journey to the local farmers market eventually landed her on the board of a developing food cooperative. Melanie explores the cooperative business model as a tool for empowering communities, and the revolutionary impact it can have on local economies. Melanie Shellito graduated from IWU in 1992 with a degree in design. Her award-winning marketing/branding company, Artezen LLC, focuses on helping 'positive impact' companies grow and improve our world. Melanie spent five years working with other volunteers to build a food co-op in her community - which opened May 2017 - and is currently serving her second term on the co-op's board. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@SydneyHumanismGroup]

That's amazing! Melanie's journey is truly inspiring and showcases the power of whole foods for one's health. Exploring the cooperative business model is a fantastic way to empower the community and promote sustainable food practices.

[@whoahitcurvesup]

As a prospective small business owner, I am looking into how to apply the co-op model to businesses outside of the typical grocery store. I would love to see more examples of how this can be applied to a wide variety of small businesses in different industries.

[@nelsongalvan2178]

Have you found more info or resources?

[@ragnardanneskjold6509]

I'm sure a venture capitalist will have the money to hel... Ah..er...

[@ster2600]

@@ragnardanneskjold6509 Well good riddance to them. They only intend to steal ownership of the company off the workers who do the work and the customers who fund the business. Why should they get a say, and a share of the profit?

[@vivekkumar-yf1ok]

In india LIJJAT PAPAD is successful cooperative for decades and selling international also just by women mostly of rural area

[@Ashish-ss5nt]

@@vivekkumar-yf1ok amul also na

[@robinhoodstfrancis]

So glad to find someone else who links all these things and interrelates them. A former member of a NYC food co-op here, and I recommend Will Greider´s The Soul of Capitalism and Marj Kelly´s Divine Right of Capital. Michael Moore´s film Capitalism was amazing. Not for profits like Greenpeace and Oxfam are also good angles.

[@philiprock131]

I come from Clitheroe originally, not that far from Rochdale, and I I can testify that it is "Rot-ch-dai-l" and not "Roach-dai-l" ! Great talk, and the co-operative is happening in many different levels and areas.

[@ajayskumar1747]

The human instinct is to co-operate and contribute. To compete and deprive one another are learned instincts... Taught to us by Milton Friedman and his Chicago Business School boys...

[@humanbeing3777]

Ajay S Kumar,the co-operative competed with the existing monopoly.

[@abcrane]

I would also say that psych branch of attachment theory whereby trauma/neglect in early years creates an exaggerated competition instinct, but indeed, competition is not only inherent, but when channeled in a healthy way, beneficial. for example, innovative spirit can come from competitive spirit, but either be channeled into designing wheel chairs or bombs. beware of false dichotomies in thinking, we can embrace all instincts as long as we channel them in a healthy holistic way. what about a competitive children's soccer team where the parents choose to use fair trade balls made by a cooperative?

[@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993]

Yeah Caesar and genghis learned at the feet of friedman.

[@Ashish-ss5nt]

But still the cooperative businesses have to compete with one another.

[@Ashish-ss5nt]

@J Rhoads then where will the concept of free market capitalism go, I mean choice of consumers to buy one or other product

[@commonwealthharmlessbee9786]

Thank you for being the source of inspiration to build people..

[@Rose_Harmonic]

I have a new LLC that I can run by myself for now, but I plan to turn it into a worker co-op if I have some success.

[@jed_shred_guitars]

How is it going?

[@goldenstateantifascist4886]

Cooperation Jackson is amazing

[@bettyannvillasenor3066]

Excellent presentation, after experiencing the affects of this economic downfall of covid19 such as not being eligible for unemployment compensation after losing my job at the fitness club, just getting by with my pt job as a cashier hence my falling behind on debt payments just like the majority of others, a co-op is the answer!

[@whoahitcurvesup]

I would agree! The economic downfall of covid19 absolutely highlights the need to look at alternative economies than are more community-oriented and sustainable.

[@nelsongalvan2178]

Have you progressed?

[@bettyannvillasenor3066]

@@nelsongalvan2178 getting there, the future is looking good, and it started with optimism and faith... Stay tuned 😉

[@nelsongalvan2178]

@@bettyannvillasenor3066 I'll check up on you. Good luck.

[@ragnardanneskjold6509]

Yes. The best time to induct people into all religious cults is when they're down.

[@SenTimMathern]

Thank you for the continuing inspiration!

[@naatislamic6353]

Appreciatable steps.

[@Dan-zz4jb]

Any thoughts on the best way to find people to start a worker co-op? And especially how to vet people? My concerns are power grabs & in-fighting (e.g. cliques forming, destructive ways of discussing, etc), very different vision (e.g. steering away from ethical, sustainable vision), handling turnover of members. I have these concerns as I'm just a group of one person at the moment and am interested to start a worker co-op for something in engineering or tech, a space that seems to have a lot of competitive type working models which people may be overly used to... In general, I'm struggling to find good resources to handle these nuts & bolts type questions... Any suggestions would be helpful

[@alexxx4434]

Only collective effort is able to efficienty solve collective problems, not the profit motive.

[@garrettcole2251]

EDUCATION is a must. A co operate type model simply works. It has been tried. The Chicago school model have failed.

[@rw9207]

There is a another term for this... it's "Democratic Socialism".

[@camrynschooley5697]

Yes

[@MrMuzahuzi]

Can I start a local grocery store and own 50% and invite locals to take the other part and still call it a coop?

[@Ecosentidos]

Not really, but it sounds like an interesting business structure you could experiment with. Check out the ESOP model 😊

[@trishahopkins6574]

Here in the UK we also have the John Lewis Partnership which is owned by the people who work for the partnership. It was set up by John Spedan Lewis along the socialist model.

[@spotlessmind7681]

if residents of the communities truly owned the economic base and infrastructure of their community, you could speak of true communism - a community based society!

[@WoWCity]

Let us make an app for that :)

[@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993]

Need a co-op first

[@rizmacadillac]

I studied American Market Economics in College both through the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Business School. My University asked me to do research on Co-ops during my Sophomore year and this was during America's Cold War with the USSR (Russia) and allegedly against communists. TO be perfectly honest, despite the propaganda saying that co-ops empower Americans and all I think most American Cooperatives are organized and for all practical purposes "owned" by families and certain individuals. Most of us have real, regular jobs and need real and regular income. After a year or two doing research for the University I began to meet people who organized and were involved with co-ops. I was doing my research from a free-market perspective and trying to work my way around co-op ideas and such. Quite honestly some of what they say seemed impossible while other things they said seemed to be Orwellian double speak and double think type propaganda. Have any of you read Animal Farm? In any case, over time I was interviewing Communists and basically people who were hiding Communist ideas behind Labor Unions and other organizations. I finished my University research with an American Textbook and all my research was "normal" from an American Academic perspective but I was haunted talking to Communists and such. About a decade after leaving College I ran across some reading released by the former Soviet Union and Cooperatives were the form of business recommended by the Communist Government if people weren't working for State-Owned Corporations. I "get it" and by that I mean I "understand" that some Americans don't like the concept of Private ownership of corporations and all and some people even consider it slavery. I don't have answers to all of the economic issues that are raised with Cooperatives and such. But I don't think they can cure cancer or end poverty. In America we are told that to get a good job and have a good income you need a good education. I believe educated people are going to want to earn as much money as possible and have as much free time and as many opportunities to grow and develop as possible. For me my research on Cooperatives was another assignment I completed in school, like spelling lessons or Matrices or Math or science or the many Economics lessons I learned over time and I never found in a Co-op any epiphany. I figure there are unhappy people working for Co-ops just as there are people who have not found happiness owning their own business or working for a large Corporations. If you have the money, Americans can invest in corporations and own a piece of the American Economy. And quite frankly, I think the most common state of relations with a human being is family, perhaps, but also being alone. If an individual needs an income and can't hook up with employment then the most common way to change this would be starting a business. Actually a group of Union Communists were following me around after my research and when I attempted to start my own business they ganged up on me and tried to prevent it. Life is short and the pleasures of life are the most important and valuable experiences we have as human beings. It is sad that life can be ruined by meddling collectivists who think they should control and ruin everyone's life "for the common good". Freedom is complicated and elusive in my experience but other people often cause more harm than good.

[@1merkur]

You should've researched Yugoslavia. It had self-governing socialism i.e. most of the companies were coops (workers owned, voting who's managing it every few years). The country had record economic prosperity, got ruined by ultranationalists.

[@rizmacadillac]

@@1merkur I studied the American Economic System and the study of Co-ops was a diversion encouraged by the University. I know nothing about Yugoslavia and the Collective Farms but Soviet Communist control after World War II (Two) is a brief period in History. There are all sorts of definitions we need to look at when talking about co-ops including whether the organization is really a business, whether it is formed at the point of a gun or voluntary, and quite honestly I do not have the funding to speculate intelligently. There are a lot of Americans who hated the Soviet Union and to be perfectly honest I believe I was being investigated by the FBI, CIA and such even though my research was University proposed and sanctioned. Since this was business research as part of a standard University Economics Program, I consider the project a part of my Business Education and part of a valid degree. Let's not spoil it by bringing Communism, the Cold War and speculation into all of this. I am speculating here, but it seems to me what I learned about Collective Farms is that "Peasants" were forced to work on these farms. It was not voluntary. But I know nothing about the propaganda that must have existed in Yugoslavia between 1945 and 1955 or so or what these organizations taught or believed. To be honest, I would like to believe that all Economic systems are meant to be positive and helpful of citizens. This is to say I attempt to be an optimist. As to the issue of "record economic prosperity", I simply do not know with certainty because I have not accessed or attempted to interpret the data. Agriculture in America today .... Farms are still often family farms but mechanization means that one farmer can often work more land with new technology. Farmers are fascinating people (the Americans I know) but there is often talk as to whether the Farmer is getting his share of our Food Dollar and whether he is being adequately compensated. In any case, the Soviet System collapsed and today we appear to be enemies of Russia for yet another reason. But once again, all I know with certainty is what I can learn on the news and how I can interpret the news based on my own knowledge, education and experience. I guess to some extent, I consider that "profits" are essential to business and business success. Under a system of competition, it takes skill and hard work to turn a profit because we assume people are "smart" and look for low prices. I wish the best to people who want to try new Economic ideas and make America a better place to live. But even though George Orwell came from a well to do British Background I also recommend reading ANIMAL FARM as a story about Co-operatives. Here again, as I write this in 2022, the British Economic and Political system seems to be very different. And the United Kingdom is a country I am familiar with to some minimal extent. What can I say, I was not running my own business or co-op when I did this research, but I did watch the Soviet System - and probably co-ops that were supported by the Government and the Soviet Legal System - collapse. This is unfortunate. If I were doing an Physics or Chemistry experiment and everything blew up in my face then I would have to conclude that my experiment ended this way and would probably happen again with similar results. While I was doing my research on Co-ops I was told that John Kenneth Galbraith was working with similar research and that he had "come out in favor of co-ops" after many years of research. He was over 70 years old and still lecturing at Harvard according to my memory of this at the time. I do not know how he reacted to the fall of Communism, but my impression is that he was a critic of America. There is always more detailed work to do with all of this... but don't forget personal profit and personal happiness and satisfaction. Education is to improve your life, not destroy it.

[@1merkur]

@@rizmacadillac in case you're curious, I'd mention that most companies (co-ops) in Yugoslavia weren't forcefully formed, the employees liked being part of them, plus they competed freely with their products. The state owned very few strategically important industries, like military, maybe some utility, media or transportation entity here & there. The country had great rate of economic renewal & growth, the standard of living was an par with western democracies, also free healthcare & universities. It was totally different from USSR.

[@rizmacadillac]

@@1merkur I was attending a class at Princeton University about 10 years ago. The Russian student there - this generation of Russians - knows nothing about what it was like to live under the Soviet System. I am an American and have virtually no political influence. I would be insane to suggest that America change our way of farming. I can't help you. You might try American Labor Unions or some American Religious groups. They seem interested in destroying private enterprise, private property and starting collectives. I believe in positive thinking and positive work habits and education. My education was American with American ideas and ideals.

[@1merkur]

@@rizmacadillac what do you mean by "I can't help you" ? I was just chatting, being curious about how systems work, but no particular allegiance to any, so I don't have some intention to incite changes.

[@goldenrule1948]

No, THANK YOU❣️

[@ohkfilms]

I have this playing in 2x speed and she’s sounds like she’s talking normal speed. It’s good to annunciate and speak clearly in public speaking, talking at a good speed is also important but talking this slow and dramatic takes away from the speech and the message.

[@kamaldaud2782]

Are you a judge in public speaking competition?