- Teikei
nihongo|Teikei|提携 is a system of
community-supported agriculture inJapan , whereconsumer s purchasefood directly fromfarmer s. Teikei is closely associated with small-scale, local,organic farming , andvolunteer -based,non-profit partnership s between producers and consumers. Millions of Japanese consumers participate in teikei. It is widely cited as the origin of community-supported agriculture around the world.While there is some disagreement as to the "first" teikei group, the concept can be traced back to the mid-1960s, when a group of Japanese women banded together to purchase fresh milk. A general movement towards consumer-farmer partnerships in Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970s was driven by
environmental issues and distrust of the quality of food in the conventional food system.One of the founding teikei groups, the
Japan Organic Agriculture Association (JOAA), founded in 1971, describes teikei as "an idea to create an alternative distribution system, not depending on the conventional market. Though the forms of teikei vary, it is basically a direct distribution system. To carry it out, the producer(s) and the consumer(s) have talks and contact to deepen their mutual understanding: both of them provide labor andcapital to support their own delivery system.... Teikei is not only a practical idea but also a dynamic philosophy to make people think of a better way of life either as a producer or as a consumer through their interaction." [http://www.joaa.net/English/teikei.htm#ch3-1]"Teikei" in Japanese means "cooperation", "joint business", or "link-up". In reference to CSA, it is commonly translated as "food with the farmer's face on it".
Teikei abroad
While there is no evidence that teikei was the inspiration for
Community Supported Agriculture in the United States, there have been a few examples of Community Supported Agriculture programs that have followed the Japanese model closely. The system is valued for its ability to make small-scale agriculture more economically viable and give more control to consumers over the food they consume. Although theCommunity Supported Agriculture movement was born out of anthroposophical and biodynamic farming initiatives, CSA has also enjoyed the benefit of gaining popularity through the boomingOrganic Farming movement in the United States that experienced rapid and growth in the late '90s and early '00s, leading to the establishment of organic produce in mainstream retail sales.*
Biodynamic agriculture
*The Food Project - an American youth organization that incorporates a popular CSA program
*Sustainable Agriculture References
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