CSA – A Homogeneous Phenomenon? Characteristics and Types in the German Context

Community Supported Agriculture can be described as a social practice in which a group of people connects to a farm, finances its yearly operational costs and receives a proportional share of the harvest. Within this alternative practises new forms of cooperation are established. They are reflected in the innovative facets of CSA, the authors’ study identified in the German context: solidarity (1) with other members, the farmers and the nature; the members of the CSA receive de-commodified products (2) as they are not offered on a market; and prosuming (3) which means that the roles of producers and consumers blur. As a result of a narrative discourse-analysis and semi-structured interviews with CSA- activists it becomes apparent that Community-Supported Agriculture is not a homogeneous phenomenon, but can be differentiated into various types –sociopolitical, spiritual-communal, and pragmatic-economic – which differ in their problem narratives, motivations, goals and values. While these perceptions have influence on social practices, their differences have to be taken into account if one wants to evaluate how CSA fosters democratic participation and how it can be understood as part of a broader social movement.