Introduction to Community Supported Agriculture 社區支持性農業的本質是一群人與一塊土地或一片區域土地間的相互承諾。農地餵養人們，而人們支持農地作為回報，並共同承擔內在的風險與享有潛在的產品報酬。在較為傳統的社會，人們視此連結為理所當然。在農業社會裡，如美國早期，大部分人自己種植作物或是從鄰近的農村採買食物。我能想像一些無法理解為何要如此大驚小怪的人。與培育出食物的土地相連結真是正常的。然而，像美國這樣工業化的國家，我們必須重新創造人類生活狀態的首要基礎。 美國最初一開始的社區支持型農場是位於麻州的「印度安線農場（Indian Line Farm）」與新罕布什爾州的「天普-威爾頓農場（Temple-Wilton Farm）」，兩農場皆成立於1986年，並建立了「社區農業」的架構。社區支持型農場將所有的產品分給所有會員與股東。印度安線農場分配其產出，以確保每位股東分到相等的一份或半份。天普-威爾頓農場允許股東拿取他們所需，無論當初他們支付多少股資。 這些農場形塑了社區支持型農業的完美映象：一個順利運作的有機或自然動力農場，將其產品分給與農夫共享風險與利益的支持者。因為確保銷路與收入，農夫可以專心生產高品質的農產品，並細心地擔任土地守護員。會員得以吃到有史以來最新鮮、美味、營養的食物，這些會員彷彿本身就像是只需費了很少心力的耕作大師。藉由隨季節性的飲食，這些會員還有他們的小孩學習有關食物生產並與特定的土地做更深的聯結。他們尊崇作事人的農作技術與心力，並以友誼、財力支持和協助農事來表達對農民的感恩。會員與農民結合成一個關鍵、有活力的社區，這個社區慶賀著社會豐富性與生物多樣性，並讓食物正義與糧食安全成為真實。在地、區域與國際性社區支持型農業網絡及其它永續食品企業供應會員一年到頭環保的食物與公平貿易食品。 Only about a quarter of the CSA farms have emulated the community farm model. Out of the thirty CSA farms in Vermont , only one produces exclusively for sharers, while the others continue to sell to a variety of markets. The amount of member participation in either growing or distributing the food varies tremendously from farm to farm. At one extreme are CSAs like the Genesee Valley Organic in New York , for which I am one of the farmers, which require all sharers to do some work as part of their share payment. At the other, are what have come to be known as “Subscription” CSAs, where the farm crew does all of the work, and members pay a fee and simply receive a box or bag of produce each week, similar to the “box schemes” which have become popular in England . Most CSAs range somewhere in between, with members volunteering for special workdays on the farm, helping with distribution or defraying part of their payment by doing “working” shares. Besides supplying food, most CSAs also publish newsletters to inform members about the farm, how the food is grown and handled, and how to make best use of the food. 只有約四分之一的社區支持型農場仿製社區農場的架構。在維蒙特州三十個社區支持性農場裡，只有一個專為股東生產，其餘的農場繼續將產品賣到各類的市場。每個農場參與食物種植與配送的會員數量各不相同。極端的社區支持型農業要求所有股東投入某些農事作為他們的股份投資。位於紐約的Genesee 有機村就是社區支持型農業的一個極端，而我是其中的一位農人。有些就如同眾所皆知的社區支持型農業「參與俱樂部」，這種類型的農場工作人員投入所有的農事工作，會員繳交費用，得以每週領取一箱、袋的農產品。這種俱樂部形式類似在英格蘭變得普遍盛行的「箱制度」。大多數社區支持型農場介於這兩者間，會員自願性地在特定的工作日自願投入農事，幫忙配送或是從事一些「農事股份」以抵扣他們的會費。除了供應食品外，大多數的社區支持型農場也發佈工作日報讓其會員了解農場運作、糧食耕作、處理之過程，還有如何將食物做最佳使用。 儘管沒有得到會員超過一個月的承諾的俱樂部型農場，俱樂部型農場在提供土地與食者間的聯結上，仍扮演較強的角色，而不僅只像個傳統的食物供給者。隨著農場漸漸對這種形式的行銷有信心，他們尋求更多的管道來吸納會員。許多俱樂部型的會員要求會員提供其家中的門廊或車庫當作配送點。經過五年，安格黎克有機農場（Angelic Organics）在芝加哥地區每星期以箱配給食材超過800個家庭，其更採取進一步的作法組織一個核心團體。這些活躍的會員目前正協助農場募款購買更多的農地，安排將多餘的食材配送至低收入戶家庭，並透過工作日報推廣社區支持型農業，籌辦社區活動。在鄰近聖地牙哥的比爾盃摩（Bill Brammer）俱樂部農場，會員已經協助農場尋找更多待租的農地，並遊說改變土地分區使用管理，以使租用農地條件更有利於農場經營。
社區支持型農業簡介
By Elizabeth Henderson 翻譯：蔡月蜜
＊編按：Elizabeth Henderson為農村工作坊寫了簡介，由本次參加農村工作坊的夥伴蔡月蜜所翻譯，承蒙 她的熱情相助，非常感謝！
(Elizabeth Henderson has been farming in Massachusetts and New York State using organic methods for 27 years. She is an active member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), co-chairs the organic committee of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture and serves on the steering committee of the Agricultural Justice Project. Winters, she writes for farm newspapers and journals, and gives workshops at farmers’ conferences around the United States . With other NOFA members, she wrote The Real Dirt: Farmers Tell About Organic and Low-Input Practices in the Northeast, and has just completed the updated version of Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture with Robyn Van En (Chelsea Green, 2007).
伊麗莎白.韓德森已經在麻州與紐約州從事有機農法27年。她是東北有機農法協會（NOFA）的活躍會員、全國永續農業運動的共同主席，以及農業正義計畫工程的指導委員會。每年冬季,她替農業報與農業期刊撰文，並在美國農業會議舉辦工作坊。伊麗莎白.韓德森與西北有機農法協會其它會員共同著有真實塵土：農民述說東北部有機與低度投入實際作法，最近並剛與羅白恩.凡恩共同完成了最新版的共享收成：社區支持型農業的市民指導手冊。
An impenetrable wall of plastic and petroleum separates people in modern urban society from the source of their food. In the United States in particular the masses of the people mainly eat food that has been highly processed, packaged and transported to be sold to them from supermarkets, vending machines or fast food restaurants. Few stores bother to label food with its point of origin. The 7 to10 percent of the value of the raw food in processed products is buried by the 90 percent - the chopping, blending, cooking, extruding, packaging, distributing and advertising. There is no connection between the food and the land on which it grew or the people who grew it. A promising alternative to this state of affairs is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
堅不可摧般的塑膠與石化之牆隔開了現代城市人與食物源頭。尤其是美國，多數人的食物主要來自超級市場、自動販賣機以及速食店裡過度加工、包裝與運輸的食品。很少商店致力於標示食物的來源。加工產品中百分之九十的產值（切割、組配、料理、擠壓、包裝、配送與廣告）掩沒了百分之七到十自然食材的價值。食物與作物人、土地沒有任何聯結，而充滿前景改變現狀的另類作法就是「社區支持型農業」。
The essence of CSA is a mutual commitment between a farm or group of farms, and a group of consumers. The farm feeds the people and, in return, the people support the farm, and share the inherent risks and potential bounty of farm production. In more traditional societies, people take these connections for granted. In an agrarian society, like the United States early in its history, where most people live in the country and either grow their own food or purchase their food from a nearby farm, I can imagine people wondering why all the fuss? A connection with the land on which your food is grown is simply - normal. In industrialized countries like the United States , however, we must reinvent this most basic of human situations.
The very first CSAs in the United States , Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts and Temple-Wilton Farm in New Hampshire , both initiated in 1986, established the model of the “community farm,” which dedicates its entire production to the members, or sharers. Indian Line divided its produce so that every sharer received an equal share or half-share. Temple-Wilton allowed sharers to take what they needed regardless of how much they paid.
The example of these farms gave rise to the image of the ideal CSA: a smoothly functioning organic or biodynamic farm dividing up all its produce among a committed group of supporters who share the risks and benefits of farming with the farmers. With a market assured and income guaranteed, the farmers can concentrate on producing high quality food and practicing careful stewardship of the land. The members get to eat the freshest, tastiest, most nutritious food they have ever experienced, as though they were master gardeners, but with much less work. They and their children learn about food production and, by eating seasonally, make a deep connection to a very special piece of land. They respect and honor the farmers’ skills and hard work and express their appreciation through friendship, financial support and helping on the farm. Members and farmers converge into a vital, and creative community that celebrates diversity, both social and biological, and makes food justice and security a living reality. Local, regional and even international networks of CSAs and other sustainable food enterprises supply members year round with ecologically produced and fairly traded foods.
Even subscription farms with no more than a month’s commitment from the members provide more of a connection between the land and the eater of the food than conventional food sources. As farms become more secure with this form of marketing, they are finding more ways to involve their members. Many subscription farms ask members to provide distribution sites on their porches or in their garages. After five years of supplying weekly boxes of produce to over 800 families in and around Chicago , Angelic Organics took the further step of forming a core group. These active members are helping the farm raise funds to purchase more land, arranging for distribution of leftover food to low-income families, promoting the CSA through a newsletter, and organizing community events at the farm. The members of Bill Brammer’s subscription CSA near San Diego have assisted the farm in finding more land to rent, and lobbied for changes in land use zoning that make the rental terms more favorable to the farm.
We do not know how many CSA projects there are in the United States or North America . The Robyn Van En Center for CSA Resources lists over 1200 CSAs on their website, www.csacenter.org. In 2005, Steven McFadden, author of Farms of Tomorrow Revisited, estimated that there were over 1700 CSAs feeding 250,000 households. I do know that CSAs vary in size from three shares to over 2300. They can be found as far north as Palmer, Alaska , (and even farther north in Canada ), and as far south as Gainesville, Florida , or San Diego, California . The densest clusters are in the northeast, around the Twin Cities and Madison in the upper midwest, and in the Bay Area of California. The number of CSAs is increasing quickly where regional networks, such as Equiterre in Quebec and Just Food in New York City , provide technical assistance. Most CSAs are either organic or Biodynamic in method of production. A few are in transition to organic or to a lower use of chemicals.
我們不知道在美國或北美洲有多少的社區支持型農業。贊成社區支持型農業的羅白恩.凡恩中心（The Robyn Van En Center）在它的網站上（www.csacenter.org）羅列超過1200個社區支持型農業農場。在2005年時，重遊明日農田（Farms of Tomorrow Revisited）一書的作者史蒂芬.麥克菲登（Steven McFadden）估計有1700個這樣的農場供應250,000個家庭所需。我的確知道各個農場在規模上差異非常大，從三個股東到2300個都有。這些農場最北遠至阿拉斯加的伯爾瑪（Palmer, Alaska），最南則至佛州的蓋恩斯維爾（Gainesville, Florida）或是加州的聖地牙哥（San Diego, California）。最密集的區域在東北部約雙子城（Twin Cities）附近、北西上半部的麥迪遜（Madison），以及加州的灣區（Bay Area）。社區支持型農場的數量持續增加，區域網絡像是魁北克的愛克特瑞（Equiterre）或是紐約的公平食物（Just food），皆提供了技術上的協助。大部分社區支持型農業採有機或是自然動力方法種植。只有少數目前正處於過渡到有機的階段，或是處在過渡到減少化學農藥使用的階段。
- Jul 23 Wed 2008 17:43
農村工作坊講師系列--Elizabeth Henderson（1）
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