http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1336616490

Food co-ops in America communities, consumption, and economic democracy

"In recent years, American shoppers have become more conscious of their food choices and have increasingly turned to CSAs, farmers' markets, organic foods in supermarkets, and to joining and forming new food coops. In fact, food coops have been a viable food source, as well as a means of collective and democratic ownership, for nearly 180 years. In Food Coops in America, Anne Meis Knupfer examines the economic and democratic ideals of food cooperatives. She shows readers what the histories of food coops can tell us about our rights as consumers, how we can practice democracy and community, and how we might do business differently. In the first history of food co-ops in the United States, Knupfer draws on newsletters, correspondence, newspaper coverage, and board meeting minutes, as well as visits to food coops around the country, where she listened to managers, board members, workers, and members. What possibilities for change--be they economic, political, environmental or social--might food coops offer to their members, communities, and the globalized world? Food co-ops have long advocated for consumer legislation, accurate product labeling, and environmental protection. Food coops have many constituents--members, workers, board members, local and even global producers--making the process of collective decision-making complex and often difficult. Even so, food coops offer us a viable alternative to corporate capitalism. In recent years, committed coops have expanded their social vision to improve access to healthy food for all by helping to establish food coops in poorer communities."--Publisher's website.

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