from Jean paul courtens
Hi Jane and Allan:
I think it is also important for the subscribers at "BD Now" to know that Jan vanderTuin (whom I had forgotten to mention), had brought the idea with him from Dornach, Switzerland. There Jan had either worked, or just met with a farmer that had a CSA relationship with the people in the community of Dornach. (I assume everyone knows that Dornach is where the headquarters of the anthroposophical society is centered.) I mention this since we need to understand what the core values behind the CSA concept are if you want to understand where to move from here. You can find similar core-values in the community land trust movement, within Native American wisdom, etc. The main idea behind CSA is an associative relationship in which a true partnership develops between the farmer and the consumer. It arises out of the understanding that economic arrangements are a balance between altruistic and egotistic interests. The consumer has an interest in good food and understands in order to sustain his physical body he needs to find an excellent farmer that understands how to nourish the earth. The consumer is egotistic and altruistic at the same time since his/her concern for the earth and the well-being of the farmer go hand in hand with his/her own health. The farmer needs to provide for him/herself and it is in his/her interest to provide a good value to the consumer. As far as ownership is concerned and the importance of it, I find that people generally think too simplistic in the terms of ownership. It is not that you either own a farm or you don't. The ownership has many aspects and you can refer to ownership as nothing more that a bundle of rights. For example it is quite appropriate for the farmer to "own" the farm business but can be very comfortable in leasing the land from the consumers providing the consumer is willing to write a long-term lease, and is willing to protect the investment the farmer makes each year in the land and/or other improvements. The community land trust movement has a lot of experience as far as looking at the question of ownership and we can learn from them. The anthroposophists, like the people in the community land trust movement have looked at issues like the place of the economy in context of our social life. How we derive value, and come up with a price in the contex t of a just economy are very important questions and lie at the heart of the CSA movement. To counter Leigh in his bitter experience, I have to endure the pressure of my members to get more serious about my own financial future, get an IRA, increase my profit etc. I appreciate their concern, and it is a proof that what we do works and has a profound impact on others. Where do you find that outside the CSA movement?
Jean-Paul
ps, Allan, I had a little chuckle when I saw your subject line above the response to Steve in the SANET which read: "BD BS". A Freudian e-slip maybe?
