Eating Locally and In Season--Bibliography source

I read a journal posting from Human Organization titled: "Community-supported agriculture: A sustainable alternative to industrial agriculture?" by Cynthia Abbott Cone and Andrea Myhre.

I initially thought this source was spot on for my topic given the title of the journal. As I read I discovered that although still relevant and pertinent to my research, it wasn't quite spot on. It talks about CSA's. Which are a growing social trend. They involve agreements set up between local farmers and "members" of the CSA. Basically people get together and decide that they want quality, local food that is supportive of their environment. And they all create a pact together; the farmers agree to terms of raising the crops, the members agree to help with expenses, help with transportation of the goods, etc. Usually CSA's are primarily for fresh produce, though occasionally meat or dairy products are involved as well. I did not know that I knew what a CSA was. But as I read more about them I remembered a friend of mine from high school. Her mother was very health conscious, and I remember being at her house one day in the summer when a large cardboard box full of vegetables was delivered to her back door. Not your average amount or selection. If I remember correctly it was like, a lot, of eggplants and a few batches of kale. Because that's part of the agreement in a CSA. Whatever is in season, whatever there is an abundance of healthy crop for, whatever is sustainable--that's what you get. It's not like an online delivery of groceries, you don't check a box for zucchinis and tomatoes--you get what you get. Anyone interested? Look here for some information on local CSA's. People's Food Co-op (which we've talked about in class as an option for more environmentally conscious grocery shopping) is also reminiscent of a CSA.

The authors conducted research on eight CSA's. They researched the farmers and the members; motivations for creation and joining, and personal statistics such as married/unmarried, kids/no kids, education level. Overall I learned a lot about how CSA's make eating locally and in season more practical and doable, but that they can tend to attract only a certain type of person or household (typically a household unconcerned with any monetary commitments.) I also learned about why industrialized agriculture is so unsustainable, and how CSA's are one way to nudge communities out of their dependence on modernity.