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The New England Journal of Cooperative Associations
Taking Control: The Tenability of National, Regional, and LocalCooperative Businesses
Authors: Emerson Almeida, Kenneth Mick, and Ryan Mcadams
Introduction
A disparity of ideas came to each member of our group’s mind
when we thought of a cooperative in relation to economics and
business. Our thoughts initially gravitated towards the belief
that the economic model constituted an irrelevant, impractical,
and outdated form of business, and we each exhibited only a
tenuous understanding of the concept. Economic and business
teachings of the day often stress competitive capitalism to the
detriment of other economic theories; the term cooperative
“remains almost invisible in the textbooks” relating to these
subject areas.1 However, historical evidence points to the
conclusion that cooperative associations shape national,
regional, and local environments in a positive way, and, at the
1 Hill, Roderick. "The Case of the Missing Organizations: Co-operatives in Textbooks." The Journal of Economic Education. 31. no. 3 (2000): 281. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1183098?origin=JSTOR-pdf& (accessed February 22, 2013).
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local level, a food cooperative will add onto this tradition by
providing the unique, convenient, and substantive opportunity for
the residents of Amherst to benefit one another.
Cooperatives on a National Scale: Tradition and Success
The International Cooperative Alliance states that, “a
cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united
voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural
needs…through jointly-owned and democratically-controlled
enterprise.”2 Various types of cooperative associations exist for
a wide variety of purposes, and when compared to traditional
capitalistic business models, they differ markedly. In worker
cooperatives, the employees, not outside investors, determine all
business decisions through the democratic process. More
explicitly, workers decide where the co-op allocates profits, how
many vacation days the association gives, who to conduct business
with, and what geographical areas to expand to. Each worker owns
an equally proportionate share of the business.3
2 International Cooperative Alliance, "Co-operative Definition." Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.aciamericas.coop/Co-operative-Definition.3 Trott, Adam. University of Notre Dame, "The Story of Collective Copies." Accessed February 22, 2013. (http://www3.nd.edu/~druccio/documents/Trott.pdf)
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Worker cooperatives do not own the entire cooperative market
space, though. Consumer and producer cooperatives also constitute
popular associations. Consumer cooperatives, owned by consumers,
allow patrons, who subsequently become shareholders, to purchase
specific items and fulfill certain goals. Meanwhile, producer
cooperatives arise when producers bundle and sell their products
together – usually to remain economically competitive.4 Multi-
stakeholder cooperatives also exist, as producers, consumers,
workers, and communities frequently find it beneficial to team up
with one another to achieve a common goal.5
The founding of a cooperative by members in common often
comes, either implicitly or expressly, with a set of values that
the association will adhere to. These values differ markedly from
those businesses of capitalistic nature, as capitalism inherently
fosters competition. Instead, cooperative businesses lay their
foundation in cooperation and collaboration with those who share
similar goals. Cooperative associations ideally adhere to seven
1.4 Cooperative Development Center at Kent State University, "Solidarity as a Business Model: A Multi-Stakeholder Cooperatives Model." (Accessed February 22, 2013) 7-8.5 Cooperative Development Center at Kent State University, “Solidarity as a Business Model,” 11-12.
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key principles: “voluntary and open membership; democratic member
control; member economic participation; autonomy and
independence; education, training and information; cooperation
among cooperatives; [and] concern for community.”6
Benjamin Franklin created the first cooperative association
in America in 1752. After over 250 years this cooperative, the
Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from
Loss by Fire, still exists today.7 However, “the cooperative as a
modern business structure” came to fruition in 1844.8 Poor
economic and working conditions in Great Britain brought on by
the onslaught of heavy industrialization pushed 28 disenchanted
workers into forming the Rochdale Society for Equitable Pioneers.
The society focused primarily on selling goods to consumers
through the vehicle of a cooperatively owned general store.9
6 Cooperative Development Institute, "International Cooperative Alliance Principles and Values." Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.cdi.coop/icaprinciples.html.7 National Cooperative Month Planning Committee, "Cooperative Businesses In the United States...A 2005 Snapshot ." Last modified 2005. Accessed February 22, 2013. (http://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/info/stats/uscoopbus05.pdf) 2. 8 Oleson, Brian. University of Manitoba - Department of Agribusiness & Agricultural Economics, "History of Cooperatives." Last modified 1999. Accessed April 10, 2013. http://www.umanitoba.ca/afs/agric_economics/ardi/history.html9 Note 12, supra; OLESON.
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The tenability of this business model made its way to the
United States, and by the final decades of the 19th century
farmers began to form producer cooperatives to combat “low
prices, wide marketing margins, high freight charges, and high
interest rates.”10 Cooperatives further flourished with the
country’s entering into the Gilded Age, which brought what many
considered to be the worst evils of capitalism – monopolies,
exploitation, and volatile markets. Middlemen, like those
businesses that purchased agricultural products from farms in
order to process them, squeezed small farmers for profit by
underpaying them for their commodities. Monopolies by big
business made this possible, as it allowed them to corner and
exploit the market.11 By 1900, in an attempt to combat these
unfair practices, “at least 1,223 cooperatives were active in the
United States.”12
10 University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, "Cooperatives in the U.S.." Last modified 2012. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/whatisacoop/history/11 Varney, Christine. American Bar Association, "The Capper-Volstead Act, Agricultural Cooperatives, and Antitrust Immunity." Last modified December 2010. Accessed April 10, 2013. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publishing/antitrust_source/Dec10_Varney12_21.authcheckdam.pdf.12 Note 12, supra; OLESON
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While farmers attempted to create stability and fairness
through cooperation, their situation only worsened with the
conclusion of World War I. During World War I the federal
government guaranteed high price supports for farmers in an
effort to sustain the war movement. Farmers attempted to take
advantage of these artificially high agricultural prices by
increasing their production output. To do this, farmers purchased
high priced land on credit, which, given the high price supports,
they considered a manageable risk for the expected reward.
Farmers also bought the latest technological equipment on credit
in an attempt to generate more agricultural commodities for
market.13
Congress provided the means for this spending with the
passage of the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916. The act aimed to
provide farmers with the capital necessary to keep agricultural
development high and to level the playing field for farmers in
obtaining credit and loans.14 The spending, planting, and
13 Morain, Tom. Iowa Public Television, "The Great Depression Begins in the 1920s." Accessed March 6, 2013. http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath.cfm?ounid=ob_000060.14 Cornell University Library, "THE FEDERAL FARM LOAN ACT." Accessed March 29,2013. http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924014007326/cu31924014007326_djvu.txt.
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harvesting spree greatly benefited the farmer economically during
the time period in which Congress enacted Government assistance,
but not so much after Congress repealed it.15
The Government’s choice to end high price supports in 1920
left many farmers economically devastated. This dramatic shift in
policy left farmers at the mercy of supply and demand economics,
and as a result, many farmers paid dearly for their fiscal
overextension during World War I. Easy and cheap credit came to a
halt, and by the early 1920’s farmers begged banks to ease their
calls on debt collection and to provide greater and less
restrictive loans (at this time banks contained the capital to
acquiesce to the farmers demands but chose not to for economic
reasons).16
The quandary of the farmer worsened as overproduction of
agricultural commodities, which used to be of great benefit to
the farmer, drove agricultural commodity prices down. Many
farmers began defaulting on their mortgage payments, with their
farms thus falling prey to foreclosure. Foreclosure became an
15 Note 5, supra. MORAIN 16 "Farmers and Banks." New York Times, June 7, 1921. http://search.proquest.com/hnpnewyorktimes/docview/98428502/13D1D697338105069F8/805?accountid=14572 (accessed March 29, 2013).
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even bitter pill to swallow after low agricultural commodity
prices drove the price of farmland down – many farmers paid a
premium price for the land during the agricultural boom years of
World War I.17
The Government attempted to combat the plight of the farmer
through a system of “self-help.” This self-help came in the form
of the Government’s official encouragement of cooperative
associations; “Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover all
strongly endorsed the use of agricultural cooperatives” as a way
to combat the negative aspects of the market based economy.18 The
Capper-Volstead Act of 1922 allowed those who joined together in
an agricultural cooperative to bypass United States anti-trust
laws.19 In further efforts to combat the depression of
agricultural commodity prices, Congress passed the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1929. The act attempted to facilitate an uptick
in agricultural economics by further encouraging cooperative
associations. Specifically, the legislation provided an increased
17 Note 5, supra; MORAIN.18 Note 22, supra; OLESON19 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "7 USC § 291." Accessed April 10, 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/291.
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amount of capital to the countryside through the form of
Government subsidized loans.20
However, the Great Depression marked the cementing of the
cooperative association as a truly successful economic model in
the United States. This success stemmed in large part from the
federal government’s initial participation in aiding cooperatives
through a large increase in aid (introduced in legislation like
the Agricultural Act of 1933). Congress’s newfound vigor provided
for the introduction of agricultural credit unions, agricultural
commodity price supports, favorable agricultural lending
practices, and specially earmarked projects for the countryside
(e.g. infrastructure).21 Cooperatives flourished during the 1930’s
and 1940’s, but the post–World War II period ushered in a more
conservative era, especially during the 1950’s, as the Cold War
nestled firmly into the American psyche.22
While funding for cooperatives decreased post-World War II,
the public’s interest in cooperatives did not wane. The
counterculture of the 1960’s and 1970’s brought with it a new, 20 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "12 USC § 1141e." Accessed April 10, 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/1141e21 Note 9, Supra; WISCONSISN COOPERATIVES IN THE US.22 Note 10, Supra; WISCONSIN COOPERATIVES IN THE US.
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rejuvenated view on this particular economic model. Those
perpetuating the new belief in this system often used radical
language directed against the traditional American way of life;
Abbie Hoffman, author of Steal this Book, detailed the necessity of
cooperatives in “fighting our common oppressor on a community
level.”23 These people helped to usher in a “‘new wave’ of
consumer co-ops,” and, in turn, this new wave helped to disperse
cooperatives from a concentration in the countryside to suburban
and urban areas.24
As of 2009 some 29,000 cooperative associations operated
within the United States. These cooperatives have had an enormous
macroeconomic impact, as they control “more than $3 trillion in
assets, and generate over $500 billion in revenue and $25 billion
in wages.”25 Wages coupled with the value of benefits push
cooperative pay outs to over $75 billion a year.26 Not only do
23 Hoffman, Abbie. Steal this Book, (Pirate Editions, 1971) http://api.ning.com/files/4Xa2- CEC7u86knA5Ok1TwPaFKUN5km1ZQd5vcvJe5kb-mPrytZA*xrp9Fqa2PG*Px4wEcpQadfj3S0ZFVq8pHS-xBs2hUQ-zrg1iDERX0Mo_/HoffmanAbbieStealThisBook.pdf (accessed March 2, 2013), 10.24 Cooperative Development Foundation, "History of Cooperatives." Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.cdf.coop/history-of-cooperatives/. 25 National Cooperative Business Association, "Co-op Research / Economic Impact." Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.ncba.coop/ncba/about-co-ops/research-economic-impact.26 Note 15, Supra; NATIONAL COOPERATIVE BUSINESS.
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cooperatives provide over two million American jobs,27 but the
American public also holds over 350 million cooperative
memberships.28 Even private corporations, like BJ’s, Sam’s Club,
and Costco, use an economic model based off of the traditional
consumer cooperative; consumers purchase a store membership which
allows them to shop and receive monetary savings (although, these
organizations tweak the system enough to ensure that the
capitalist structure prevails).
The aid provided by the federal government during the 1930’s
allowed for agricultural cooperatives to become major
macroeconomic players. Today, “agriculture co-ops have a gross
business volume of more than $111 billion per year and 2.8
million members.”29 Meanwhile, these 2.8 million members are
spread between roughly 3,000 different farmer cooperative
associations.30 Successful, monolithic co-ops include many well
known brand names, like Ocean Spray, Sunkist, and Florida’s 27 Note 16, Supra; NATIONAL COOPERATIVE BUSINESS.28 University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, "Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives: Executive Summary." Accessed February 22, 2013. http://reic.uwcc.wisc.edu/summary/.29 National Cooperative Month Planning Committee, "Cooperative Businesses In the United States...A 2005 Snapshot ." Last modified 2005. Accessed February 22, 2013. (http://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/info/stats/uscoopbus05.pdf) 4. 30 National Council of Farmer Cooperative, "About Co-ops." Last modified 2010.Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.ncfc.org/about-ncfc/about-co-ops.
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Natural Growers.31 Not only do many of these co-ops possess a
recognizable brand name, but many also hold great economic power.
The three largest agricultural cooperatives – CHS Inc, Dairy
Farmers of America, and Land O’Lakes – brought in a whopping $60
billion in revenue in 2011 alone.32
These colossal enterprises exist and thrive while remaining
true to their cooperative roots. Cooperative associations remain
germane on a macroeconomic scale because they allow for
consumers, producers, workers, and communities to unite to assist
one another in a responsible and economically beneficial manner.
History shows that on a macroeconomic scale cooperatives are not
irrelevant and they offer tenable solutions to major
socioeconomic quandaries.
New England Cooperatives: A Long and Proud History
While cooperatives attained great success on the national
scale, the cooperative business model in New England also
31 National Cooperative Month Planning Committee, “Cooperative Businesses In the United States,” 5.32 United States Department of Agriculture, "Top 100 Largest Agriculture Cooperatives." Last modified 2011. Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/rdTop100AgCoop2011-Oct2012.pdf.
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flourished. Food cooperatives in the region date as far back as
the 1842 and continue today to impact the region greatly. A
strong and vibrant pedigree exists in relation to this particular
business model, as the legacy and tradition on which it rests
benefits the regional community as a whole.
The history of food cooperatives in New England traces back
to the 1840s. One of the earliest cooperative enterprises in the
region, the Brook Farm Community, existed in eastern
Massachusetts from 1842 until 1847.33 Brook Farm Community, a
utopian-based community cooperative, dedicated its mission to
combating inequality. In 1886, Edward W. Bemis published an
article in which he called this particular co-op, “more radical
in its revolt from existing economic conditions than most
cooperative schemes, since it involved the whole social life, as
well as the production and distribution of wealth.”34
The Brook Farm Community contained many prominent members,
most notably, John Orvis of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and
Jonathan Butterfield of Wakefield, Massachusetts. Orvis went on
33 “Edward W. Bemis, “Cooperation in New England,” Publications of the American Economic Association 1, no. 5 (November 1886): 7, accessed March 7, 2013, hnp://www.jstor.org/stable/2485565.34 Bemis, “Cooperation in New England,” 7-8.
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to become a national lecturer and organizer of the National
Council of the Sovereigns of Industry, an organization that
attempted to establish large scale consumer co-operatives to
combat the monopolies of businesses. He also became a leading
exponent and advocate for the formation of cooperative
associations in conjunction with the Knights of Labor, another
prominent labor cooperative.35 Butterfield, like Orvis, also
experienced great success in the regional cooperative market. He
eventually rose to become the treasurer of the National Council
of the Sovereigns, a position where he exerted tremendous
influence over the regional movement.36
In 1867, agricultural advocates formed perhaps one of the
most famous national agricultural cooperatives, the Grange.
Headquartered in Washington D.C., the Grange’s spread throughout
much of the United States, especially in the New England area.
Specifically, the Grange attempted to boost “economic
development, education, family endeavors, and legislation
designed to assure a strong and viable Rural America.” 37 This
35 Bemis, “Cooperation in New England,” 8.36 Note 35, supra.37 Massachusetts State Grange, "What is the Grange?." Last modified 2012. Accessed March 11, 2013. http://www.massgrange.org/.
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strategy won them many supporters, and from 1872 to 1875 the
Grange experienced a phenomenal growth in membership – in part
due to the financial crisis of 1873.38 While the association’s
growth tapered during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the
agricultural plight following World War I dramatically increased
the association’s membership. 39
Cooperatives continued to develop and adapt, and the post-
World War I period marked a renewed interest and growth in New
England cooperative associations. By the late 1910s, agricultural
producers founded two of the region’s most successful
cooperatives: the New England Milk Producers Association, founded
in 1916, and Cabot Farmers Cooperative Creamery, founded in
1919.40 Each of these cooperatives grew dramatically throughout
the 20th century, and by 1980, the New England Milk Producers
Association transformed into the monolithic Agri-Mark
38 Florence J. Foster, “The Grange and the Co-Operative Enterprises in New England,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 4, (March 1894): 103,accessed March 7, 2013, hup://www.jstor.org/stable/1008703.39 Charles P. Gilliam, “A Short History of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry The National Grange,” Cannon Grange, archived on October 25, 2009, http://webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/cannongrange/cannon_nationalhistory.html&date=2009-10-25+16:52:46.40 VSECU e-News, “Highlighting Vermont Cooperatives,” Vermont State Employees Credit Union, last modified February 15, 2013, https://www.vsecu.com/articles/highlighting-vermont-cooperatives.
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Cooperative.41 Only a decade and a half later, Agri-Mark brought
Cabot Farmers Creamery under its umbrella – following the
creamery’s experiencing of an overall decline in membership.42
Agri-Mark continued to grow throughout the Northeast, though, as
it acquired assets from the McCadam Cheese Cooperative, situated
in upstate New York, in 2003.43 Today, Cabot Creamery, a
subsidiary of Agri-Mark, exercises a tremendous impact on the
regional community, as the cooperative operates through a
collective partnership of over 1,200 different farms.44
In addition to dairy farmer producers banding together
during the World War I years, cranberry growers in eastern
Massachusetts found it advantageous to form Ocean Spray, a
cranberry producer cooperative.45 Originally founded in 1930 by
three cranberry growers in Hanson, Massachusetts, the Ocean Spray
cooperative tackled tough economic difficulties through
innovative business practices. Edward Gelsthorpe, a major player
41 “Agri-Mark Home Page!”42 “Cabot Cheese,” Agri-Mark, accessed March 11, 2013, http://www.agrimark.net/public/cabotcheese.php.43 “Agri-Mark Home Page!”44 “Cabot’s Cooperative Heritage,” Cabot Cheese Coop, accessed March 11, 2013, http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/about_us/.45 “Who We Are - Heritage - Our History,” Ocean Spray, accessed March 7, 2013,http://www.oceanspray.com/Who-We-Are/Heritage/Our-History.aspx.
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in Ocean Spray’s increased products’ prominence during the mid
20th century, introduced Cranapple juice, frozen orange-cranberry
juice, cranberry-orange relish, and alcoholic drinks like the
Cape Codder and Harpoon cocktail to boost economic output.46
Ocean Spray has had a tremendous impact on the New England
region, as it remains the largest cranberry producing company in
the world.47 Currently, the cooperative contains over 600 member
growers, and in the 2012 fiscal year it generated net sales of
$1.66 billion.48 In addition, the cranberry cooperative is one of
the largest and most successful cooperatives in the world.49
These particular regional cooperatives grew to become
national success stories, however, many less prominent
cooperatives served the same function, just on a much smaller
scale. In 1935 Adamant, Vermont gained a consumer co-op – a
46 William Grimes, “Edward Gelsthorpe, Master Marketer, Dies at 88,” The New York Times, last modified September 27, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/business/28gelsthorpe.html?_r=0.47 Liz Hayes, “Expansion Makes Rapids Ocean Spray Largest Cranberry Processer in World,” Wsaw.com, last modified September 23, 2008, http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/29639319.html.48 Business Wire, “Ocean Spray Announces 2012 Financial Results,” Business Wire, last modified November 19, 2012, http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121119005898/en/Ocean-Spray-Announces-2012-Financial-Results.49 Erbin Crowell, “Funding New England’s Cooperative Movement,” Communities & Banking, (Fall 2008): 2, accessed March 11, 2013, http://www.bos.frb.org/commdev/c&b/2008/fall/Crowell_Cooperative_Fund_New_England.pdf
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general store catering to the town’s consumption needs.50 With a
simple beginning, a town pastor joined with his fellow neighbors
during the winter of 1934-1935 to sell local produce to town
members to keep Adamant’s food supply fresh and local.51
While the inter-war period brought reinvigoration to the
cooperative movement, this same passion reignited following the
late 1960’s. Attempting to create an alternative to the economic
and business systems of the time, many energized optimists
founded a variety of co-ops during this time period.52 The
natural food cooperative Hunger Mountain came into existence in
Vermont during the late 1960s.53 Robert E. Weir explained in
Workers in America: A Historical Encyclopedia that not every co-op attained
success – many suffered from an inability to attract capital and
compete with larger stores.54 The initial countercultural
idealism of the co-op movement eventually gave way to business
realism, as in the late 1970s into the 1980s co-operatives began
50 VSECU c-News.51 “Some History of Adamant and the Adamant Co-op,” Adamant Co-op. accessed March 7. 2013, http://www.adamantcoop.org/history.php.52 Maria McGrath, “‘That’s Capitalism, Not a Co-op’: Countercultural Idealism and Business Realism in 1970s U.S. Food Co-ops,” Business and Economic History Online. Volume 2 (2004), 1-2, 6.53 VSECU e-News.54 Robert E. Weir, Workers in America: A Historical Encyclopedia, (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO,2013), 179.
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adopting more conventional business models in order to survive.55
By 1975, the Cooperative Fund of New England, initially a
collective of idealistic young cooperative organizers, an
accountant, and a couple of investors, sprang up to aid
cooperatives in need of funding and capital assistance.56
Proponents for funding of co-ops expanded on this idea during the
1990s with the forming of the Cooperative Development Institute;
designed “to increase economic opportunities and benefits for
people in the Northeast by fostering the growth and success of
all types of cooperative enterprises.”57
The evolution of the cooperative continued to follow various
paths, and the 1980s brought on the Community Supported
Agriculture Movement; the general idea being that investors,
usually members of the community, supported local farms
monetarily in exchange for produce.58 Two notable CSAs located in
Berkshire County sprang up in 1985, the CSA Garden at Great
55 McGrath, “‘That’s Capitalism,’” 4-5, 7-8.56 “History and Mission,” Cooperative Fund of New England, accessed March 7, 2013, http://www.cooperativefund.org/about-us/history-and-mission.57 “About Us,” Cooperative Development Institute, accessed March 11, 2013, http://www.cdi.coop/cdihistory.html.58 Steve McFadden, “Part I: Community Farms in the 21st Century: Poised for Another Wave of Growth?” Rodale Institute, accessed March 11, 2013, http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0104/csa-history/part1.shtml.
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Barrington and The Temple-Wilton Community Farm. As these co-ops
grew, CSA Garden at Great Barrington entered into a lease with
Robyn Van En of the Indian Line Farm in 1986. The CSA splintered
during the early 1990s, and Van En stayed with the Indian Line
Farm. In 1992, Van En formed CSA North America (CSANA), a
nonprofit clearinghouse to support CSA development.59 Van En died
of asthma in 1997, forcing her son to sell the farm. The farmers
were unable to buy the farm, but, with the help of the E. F.
Schumacher Society, they partnered with a community land trust
and The Nature Conservancy to buy Indian Line Farm in 1999. Susan
Witt, one of the CSA’s founders and director of the Schumacher
Society, raved about this partnership, as consumers “actively
took responsibility to hold farmland open and to make that land
available and affordable for farmers over a long term.”60
According to Witt, this example set down some basic ideas which
other co-operatives should seriously consider.61
A long, proud, and successful history exists of cooperative
associations in New England, and many of those cooperatives
59 Note 58, Supra.60 Note 59, Supra.61 Note 60, Supra.
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founded decades ago continue to thrive today. Ocean Spray
maintains a billion-dollar presence world-wide, and Cabot
Creamery, a subsidiary of Agri-Mark, contains some 1,200
regional farm partnerships – all while maintaining a commitment
to core cooperative principles. The Grange continues its strong
activity throughout the region, and the Adamant and Hunger
Mountain co-ops remain successful in meeting the needs of their
communities; Hunger Mountain generates roughly $16 million
annually and maintains a membership of over 6,000.62 A local food
cooperative in Amherst can easily establish itself as one of the
latest members of this long and historic New England legacy of
benefiting consumers, producers, and the community.
Keeping it Local: The Benefits of a New Consumer Cooperative
Different types of businesses, operating under either a
capitalistic or cooperative model, exist extensively at the local
level in Western Massachusetts. Over the border and just a few
short miles north from the center of Amherst stand the Hadley
62 “About Us > Our Story,” Hunger Mountain Coop, http://hungermountain.coop/Default.aspx?tabid=99; “About Us,” Hunger Mountain Coop, http://hungermountain.coop/Default.aspx?tabid=63; “Our History,” Brattleboro Food Coop, accessed March 11, 2013.
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shopping plazas, and within these plazas, a handful of grocery
stores. Big Y, Stop-and-Shop, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods Market
make up just a few of the large supermarkets that dot Route Nine.
Although a new food cooperative would face stiff competition from
these large supermarkets, Amherst residents have shown a great
desire to purchase from local businesses to benefit the local
community.
Many cooperative associations already call Amherst home.
Food for Thought Books and Collective Copies, each a cooperative
business, offer great benefits to the local community. A
bookstore established as a not-for-profit workers cooperative 37
years ago, Food For Thought Books donates all of its profit back
to the community. As their website states, their independent
bookstore status “means the workers are the owners of this store
and…the money you spend here stays in this community & helps keep
it a thriving & enjoyable place to live.”63 Collective Copies,
established in 1983, also stresses the importance of community
outreach; their website states that, “we return 10% of our
63 "What We Do." Food for Thought Books Collective. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
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profits to the community that sustains us.”64 A food cooperative
makes for a great business to follow in the footsteps of those
already rooted in town.
According to the National Cooperative Business Association
(NCBA), cooperatives “are motivated not by profit, but by
service-to meet their members’ needs.” 65 Unlike their potential
capitalist competitors, an Amherst food cooperative would be run
by and for the people – based largely on the wants, needs, and
goals of the community. The town of Amherst deserves such a
business within its borders, despite large market chains
dominating the surrounding towns.
Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s represent two of the
most successful supermarkets in the Hadley area. They both
possess a devout following and remain exceptionally successful in
selling their brands. Annually listed on Fortune Magazine’s ‘100
Best Companies to Work For’, Whole Foods Market runs a lucrative
business model. In 1980, the first Whole Foods opened its doors
in Austin, Texas after four local business owners joined together
64 "Collective Copies-Mission." Collective Copies-Mission. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.65 "National Cooperative Business Association." About Co-ops -. N.p., n.d. Web. 03Mar. 2013.
Almeida, McAdams, Mick: 24
to create a natural supermarket for the city.66 Only four years
later, Whole Foods began it expansion – one that still continues
today. In 1992 Whole Foods purchased Bread and Circus, which, at
that time, reigned as the largest natural grocer on the east
coast.67 Headquartered in Brookline, MA, Bread and Circus
operated a handful of stores throughout the state, including the
location where Whole Foods stands today in Hadley.
Whole Foods’ natural food selection, appealing and inviting
storefronts, and cooperation with local farmers make it an
appealing business in any town or city. However, Whole Foods
experiences stiff competition in the Hadley area from another
attractive supermarket, Trader Joe’s. Although Trader Joe’s small
town feel can leave many thinking that the store only conducts
small town business, Trader Joe’s enjoys the right to brag about
profitability. In 2009 the company’s sales totaled nearly $8
billion, on par with those of Whole Foods. Due to their small
stores, sales equaled $1,750 for every square foot, double what
Whole Foods managed.68 Many welcome these stores into their 66 "Whole Foods Market History | Whole Foods Market." Whole Foods Market History | Whole Foods Market. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.67 Note 66, supra.68 Kowitt, Beth. "Inside the Secret World of Trader Joe's." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 23 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.
Almeida, McAdams, Mick: 25
communities because of their healthful, quirky and immense food
selection, as well as their high-quality treatment of employees.
So how could one possibly complain about these two grocery
stores with near perfect records? While both offer great products
as well as an enjoyable shopping experience, at the end of the
day both conduct their business as large, capitalist
corporations. The money being spent at these supermarkets does
not go back into the local community, but rather its flows into
the pockets of business executives in other states. Creating a
food cooperative in Amherst undeniably will allow Amherst
residents the chance to support local families and put cash into
the pockets of people they know, instead of in the hands of Wall
Street traders.
Specifically, a food market cooperative in Amherst will
improve farm management in the community, create a more informed
and politically active citizenry, and offer consumers greater
benefits. This sort of cooperative in Amherst will result in an
enormous amount of cooperation amongst managers of the co-op and
various members of the community – specifically in relation to
community-supported agriculture supplying the food cooperative.
Almeida, McAdams, Mick: 26
This community collaboration in relation to community
support agriculture provides for dual benefits. Payment during
the planting period provides a farmer with the funds necessary to
start the growing season, while consumers, in time, get to enjoy
fresh foods and products. In Brazil, similar models of
collaboration exist between farmers and shareholders – the system
provided for a jaw dropping 5.4 percent of total GDP in 2009.69
This direct link between business owner and business supplier
allows the farmer to tailor crops and livestock to the
community’s goals and needs.
An agriculturally based cooperative in Amherst also offers
benefits to the local political scene. With business decisions
directly affecting the cooperative, a number of shareholders
(community residents) will become involved in creating local
policy. Lastly, cooperatives offer a number of benefits to
consumers. As explained by the United States Department of
Agriculture in Cooperative Benefits and Limitations, cooperatives benefit
consumers in the areas of quality products, varied services, new
69 "FAO Media Centre: Agricultural Cooperatives Are Key to Reducing Hunger andPoverty." FAO Media Centre: Agricultural Cooperatives Are Key to Reducing Hunger and Poverty. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
Almeida, McAdams, Mick: 27
products and processes, general costs, and in general local
welfare.
According to Liz Bailey of the National Cooperative
Business Association, “Two million jobs are generated each year
as a direct result of cooperatives, which illustrates the
incredible impact that these organizations have on local
economies."70 Amherst is no stranger to these types of
businesses, as Food for Thought Books and Collective Copies
demonstrate cooperatives offer tenable solutions for local
community needs. Should an agricultural cooperative open shop in
Amherst, it will find a welcoming community ready to support its
fellow residents.
70 Barker, Emily. "Co-operative Leaders Share Success Stories with White HouseOfficials." Co-operative News. N.p., 4 May 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2013.
Almeida, McAdams, Mick: 28
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