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CSAs are more likely to be the future (Community Supported Agriculture). It combines pretty much all the benefits of growing the food yourself while still letti
by zipdog 15y ago
CSAs are more likely to be the future (Community Supported Agriculture). It combines pretty much all the benefits of growing the food yourself while still letting a farmer run a farm effectively.
The general idea of CSA is that small to medium farms sell shares of their crop each season. That money funds their operation, and they produce a variable and generous amount of crop for each shareholder. The price is competitive and there's economies of scale, with the guarantee of knowing where and how the food is produced. Of course, its not for everyone, but its a better bet for most people who'd like to grow their own crops but don't have time/knowledge/space etc.
- nantes 15y agoAbsolutely, we just joined a CSA this year and love it. Not only does it bring you closer to your food, but also to your neighbors and community. For anyone in or around Lawrence, KS, Rolling Prairie [http://www.rollingprairie.net/ http://www.rollingprairie.net/] has been fantastic.
- bhousel 15y agoAbsolutely agree.. CSAs and farmers markets are great ways to support responsible agriculture. We joined a CSA last year, and I have nothing but great things to say about it. Anyone interested in eating better should look into it. http://www.localharvest.org http://www.localharvest.org is a good site to find a CSA near you. Note that CSAs usually take applications during the winter months. So you probably can't sign up now, but keep it in mind for next year.
- viggity 15y agoThe day that everyone joins a CSA is the day that I become a Malthusian. I believe we can easily feed everyone in the world despite record population growth, but it sure isn't going to happen without the technological advances of industrial agriculture.
- zipdog 15y agoIndustrial farming has its benefits, but one interesting data point is that the yield for small to medium farms is often higher than the super farms (ie of the US mid-West), around 1.5 to 2 times from the people I've spoken to. The ability to adjust the crop planting and fertilizer, etc by knowing the land is often diminished in the very large farms. That said, I could forsee better use of computer monitoring of conditions, etc in a large farm bringing their yield up considerably.
- nagoff 15y agoCompletely agree - I've 'semi-retired' from doing tech start-ups to start a CSA project and its been absolutely superb!