While a lot of our members are pretty familiar with CSA and have participated before, for others this a totally new concept. So, for all the newbies, I thought I would share some more information about community supported agriculture and how it spread to the US from Europe and Japan. I especially like the part about the Japanese version of CSA, called Teikei. Literally translated it means “partnership” or “cooperation”, but the more philosophical translation is “food with the farmer’s face on it”. Teikei was developed in the 60’s by a group of women concerned with the use of pesticides, the increase in processed and imported foods, and the corresponding decrease in the farm population. To fight this trend they initiated a direct, cooperative relationship with local farmers. This model has spread throughout the world and there are now thousands of CSA groups in many different countries.