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In 1975 the process of Western "development" infiltrated the Himalayan province of Ladakh. Until then, this isolated culture had survived and prospered in one of the highest, driest and coldest inhabited places on earth. The Swedish philosopher, teacher and activist Helena Norberg-Hodge has lived with Ladakhi people for two decades and has witnessed the consequences of development. "Within little more than a decade, feelings of pride gave way to what can best be described as a cultural inferiority complex," she writes. Ladakhis are ashamed of their roots as they compare themselves and their ways with Western culture. For thousands of years the Ladakhis have provided themselves with food, shelter and clothing using little more than Stone Age technologies. Ladakhis had grown fields of grain, fruits and vegetables irrigated with glacial meltwater brought miles through stone-lined channels. Now food arrives by the ton from the other side of the Himalayas and is cheaper in the local bazaar than food grown minutes away. It is no longer worthwhile for many Ladakhis to farm. Western-style economic development "is making us all poorer by teaching people around the world to use the same global resources, ignoring those that their immediate environments naturally provide," Norberg-Hodge argues. "In this way, Western-style education creates artificial scarcity and induces competition." New York state loses a thousand farms and 150,000 acres of farmland every year. As with Ladakhi culture, the last three decades of globalized conventional farming have come at a heavy ecological cost in the United States. Machines have replaced farmers and farmworkers. Pollution and pesticide use on post-harvested produce has increased as produce is transported long distances. Intensive farming depletes the soil of nutrients, pesticides run-off into our waterways, and people lose sight of self-sufficiency and feel pressured to conform and live up to the idealized images and prosperity of the American dream. Community Service Agriculture Inherent in a model of self-sufficiency is the ability to produce our own food. A localized food system encompasses farming, transportation, marketing, employment and consumer interests. It puts control back into the hands of the people to determine where their food comes from. Local jobs are created and fresh food becomes affordable, attainable and secure. As with the Ladakhi traditional economy, Americans once depended directly on family, friends and neighbors. Through a growing coalition of groups including educational organizations, community gardens, community supported agriculture (CSA), and Greenmarkets, communities can reclaim their power to make decisions over where their food comes from and to support the local economy. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a regional solution that combines supporting local farms with minimizing dependence on the conventional food system. Bill Halsey, the farmer for Greenthumb CSA, operating on Long Island, New York says he can't ordinarily compete with agribusiness practices and therefore his family farm is at an economic disadvantage. In CSAs, community members collectively organize to support a local farm. In groups such as Bill's, members buy shares in the farm to provide the farmer with capital before the start of a farming season. Farmers benefit by having the risks of farming shared regardless of weather and size of the harvest. Core group committees organize members to work shifts on the farm and handle distribution dynamics. Sarah Milstein, a core group member for Roxbury Farm CSA in New Jersey works to assure that a variety of residents get served. CSAs accommodate consumers' ability to pay by offering sliding scale fees, scholarships and the option of paying each week. Working periodic shifts on the farm or at distribution sites can further reduce the price of a share, but mainly provides an opportunity for members to gain an intimate appreciation for where their produce comes from and the work involved in growing and distributing. The ecological costs of transporting are reduced by localizing distribution sites at schools, churches or members' houses. Produce is bountifully arranged on tables at the sites and members come prepared with their own bags to package their goods. To complete the food-to-people cycle, leftover produce is typically contributed to food pantries and shelters for homeless people. Greenmarkets Another option for regional farmers to connect with New York City dwellers is Greenmarkets. Throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island, these markets provide a space for farmers to sell their goods throughout the year. Especially in the summer, the markets bustle. Fresh produce, baked goods and other produce are available. Consumers and farmers benefit by cutting out middlemen. Like CSAs, the Greenmarkets reduce the need for excessive transportation and packaging of food and also support a local economy. In 1986, a group of farmers started Finger Lakes Organics (FLO) growers cooperative. Instead of farmers individually contacting retailers and then driving the long distance to deliver their produce to city Greenmarkets, FLO serves as a regional broker. For farmers like Dick deGraff, an organic farmer in New York state, FLO offers a vital link to city residents and make his farm economically viable, despite the power of agribusiness. The last word goes to Helena Norberg-Hodge. Referring to the Ladakhi culture, she is "convinced that people were significantly happier before development and globalism than they are today. The people were well cared for and the environment well sustained. What could be more important?" The answer for us may well be to join a CSA. Some additional information. Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Contact: Alan Duffy. Tel.: 718-873-3988. Uses Green Thumb Organic Farm, Water Mill, NY. Astoria, Queens Contact: Jody Glick: 718-726-5058. Uses Green Thumb Organic Farm, Water Mill, NY. Riverdale, Bronx Contact: Hilary Baum: 718-884-5716. Uses Hawthorne Valley Farm, Ghent, NY. East Village, Manhattan Contact: Sixth Street Community Center: 212-677-1863. Uses Catalpa Ridge CSA, Newfoundland, NJ. Upper East Side, Manhattan Contact: Nancy Schauffler, 212-876-1791. Uses Stoneledge Farm, South Cairo, NY. Upper West Side, Manhattan Contact: Donna Garde: 212-961-1366. Uses Threshold Farm, Claverack, NY. For information on CSAs in New Jersey, call
the Northeast Organic Farming Association - NJ: 609-737-6848.
In Connecticut, call NOFA - CT: 203-484-2445. In Westchester
or Long Island, call the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association:
800-516-7797, or contact CSA of North America: 413-528-4374, http://www.umass.edu/umext/CS.
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