AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN THE 21ST CENTURY The progression toward local and regional food systems in the united states (MAy 2015)
SARA SERVIN
In order to emphasize the important role that cooperatives have in poverty reduction and economic and social development throughout the world, the United Nations has encouraged member States to promote cooperatives and the contributions they make in poverty reduction and economic and social development. The future of sustainable food systems and healthy communities often depends on innovative ideas that are implemented by courageous activists. Three case studies taken from across the United States exemplify the widespread impacts that this courage can have on diverse communities, from their ongoing fight for social justice to the recognition of small-scale agriculture. The focus of this report will be on the connection between agricultural cooperatives and a relatively new expansion of the cooperative model: food hubs. In the United States, the 2014 Agricultural Act provides resources for this convergence, but what more could be done?
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Acknowledgements: La Mujer Obrera, Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund an Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative