The Smell of Money: Film Screening & Discussion at MIIS

The Center for the Blue Economy at MIIS presents a screening of the film The Smell of Money and a discussion with director Shawn Bannon and writer Jamie Berger on Monday, April 22, 6pm-8pm. This event will be held both in-person at Irvine Auditorium and on Zoom. Admission is free, but registration is required.

“The smell of money” - that’s what Big Pork calls the stench of pig waste in the air in eastern North Carolina, where much of the world’s bacon and barbecue is made.

When a corporate hog farm moves in - uninvited - on land Elsie Herring's grandfather had purchased after claiming his freedom from slavery, she decides to fight back, and her struggle to save her family’s home and heritage turns into a battle against one of the world’s most powerful companies.

After decades of intimidation and defeat, Elsie and her community team up with a gutsy small-town lawyer to take the world’s largest pork company to court. An epic, nine-year legal battle ensues, and the residents risk everything to reclaim their rights to clean air, pure water, and a life free of the stench.

This event is presented by the Center for the Blue Economy at Middlebury Institute of International Studies.