Alternative food system by nonprofit organization in Massachusetts

Abstract

Under the free trade system, global agriculture and agricultural product trade dominated by multinational agribusinesses became strong. In this situation, various problems occurred in United States of America, such as an increase of the environmental load by agriculture, the lowering of food safety because of the separation between production and consumption and the weakening of rural communities caused by the increased size of agricultural farms. The purpose of this research was to examine the actual situation of the relationship between the consumers in the communities and the small-scale farms which are expected as an alternative to the agriculture dominated by multinational agribusinesses in Massachusetts, North-East U.S.A. We conducted a case study on the Food Project (FP), a non-profit organization, operating five agricultural farms in and around Boston. FP supplies agricultural products to charity organizations, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for low income people, is modestly priced. It also operates farmers’ markets in areas where mainly the poor live and carries out the dissemination activities of home gardens. In addition to that, it is engaged in fostering young leaders for the next generation and educating the youth through work and learning activities in farms. In the research from the perspective of the subsumption of agriculture to capital led by multinational agribusinesses and that of structuring the counterweight against it, an approach that focuses mainly on non-profit organization should also be included in the subjects of research.