Colombian Coffee Growers Sue Over 'Mother Goose and Grimm' Strip

Posted Wednesday, January 7, 2009 12:00 am

By: E&P Staff As they say, one man's chuckle is another man?s lawsuit.

The Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers has launched a multimillion dollar lawsuit against cartoonist Mike Peters, over a Jan. 2 ?Mother Goose and Grimm? strip that jokes of a link between Colombian coffee with crime syndicates.

Published in U.S. newspapers, the strip features a cat named Ralph telling a Colombian coffee-enjoying Mother Goose, ?Y?know, there?s a big crime syndicate in Colombia. So when they say there?s a little bit of Juan Valdez in every can, maybe they?re not kidding.? In the final panel, Mother Goose has switched to tea.

The coffee growers claim the strip insults Colombia's national dignity. The group seeks "not just an economic compensation for something that damages the intellectual heritage. We also want moral compensation. A public manifestation," federation director Gabriel Silva said Tuesday.

The coffeegrowers are asking for $20 million.

Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Peters apologized for having offended anyone in a letter sent to the editor of newspaper El Tiempo, but declined to respond to the lawsuit.

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Colombian Coffee Growers Sue Over 'Mother Goose and Grimm' Strip

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