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Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) began, it's said, in Europe and Japan in the 1960's and was brought to the US in the mid-1980's. An innovation on the old idea of growing and trading produce locally, a CSA is not funded primarily by the sale of its produce, but by a community that contributes to the entire budget of the enterprise. In other words, CSA members contribute funds to cover actual farm expenses, such as seed, water, and labor, and members receive produce as a dividend, each in accordance with how much was invested. (Often shareholders pick up the produce at farmers' markets.) The CSA method liberates the food grower from worrying about financing and marketing so that she or he can focus on providing food that's high in quality, wide in variety, and grown utilizing a broad range of sustainability practices. Currently, there are an estimated six hundred CSAs in the US. Here are some of the most important benefits of being a farmer or shareholder in the CSA revolution:

1) Since CSAs collect shares at the beginning of a season, a CSA farmer is able to avoid the conventional farming cycle of borrowing a huge amount of money at the beginning of the year with hopes she or he will be able to pay off the loans by the end of the year.

2) CSAs cost less to start up than a conventional family farm, which means starting a CSA is a viable small-business option for more people.

3) An economy founded on small business is a more vibrant and stable economy.

4) Since CSAs make starting a farm more affordable, then the number of family farms can go up. If the number of family farms goes up, urban sprawl can be arrested.

5) CSAs have historically been dedicated to sustainability and conservation.

6) CSAs have historically been dedicated to growing organic crops. (When people buy local and organic, they don't have to worry about things like tainted spinach!)

7) Children who eat at a table supplied by a CSA know where their food comes from, giving them a greater appreciation for the food and for the land. (In fact, many CSAs allow folks to work off their shares, allowing city kids to actually help grow the food they eat. For that matter, public schools can start their own CSAs that can supply the school and local farmers' market with fresh produce while teaching the kids basic gardening, cooking, conservation, and small-business principles.)

8) CSAs short-circuit corporate farms and GMO agendas.

9) Because CSAs must deliver

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