The French context
For about fifteen years, in France, different types of ethical purchasing groups have been emerging. There are different ones: the most successful and complete is called CSA( Community-supported agriculture, also known as AMAP in France) because there is a strong link and a mutual commitment between the producer and the consumer. However, there are also other groups, less demanding: the hive saying yes( Food Assembly), baskets distributed in companies or public places when a certain amount of consumers is reached, or just when a collective decides to gather around purchasing groups in order to be able to benefit from bulk-prices.
There are also ethical selling groups: indeed, producers from the country unite to open together a selling or distribution point. Many producer group projects exist in Strasbourg and in its region.
The CSA concept started to expend to cultural aspects: there are two cultural CSA groups in Strasbourg. The concept stays the same: support local artists and make them known.
Definition and description of different ethical purchasing groups( EPG) CSA:
A CSA is a Community-supported agriculture aiming at preserving the existence and the continuity of local farms with the objective of a sustainable agriculture, that is to say a socially fair and ecologically healthy farming agriculture. The first CSA has been created in 2001. Since then, the number of CSA has exponentially increased. CSAs are now present in all regions of France. We numbered more than 1600 associations in 2012, in France. This figure represents more than 50 000 families and almost 200 000 consumers. Moreover, the goal is to give consumers the possibility to buy good quality food products at a fair price, being informed about their origin and the way they have been produced, and to actively participate in the saving and development of local farming activity with respects for sustainable development.
A partnership is established between a group of consumers and a local farmer. It is completed by an agreement in which each consumer buys at the beginning of the season a part of the production( vegetables, meat, cheese, egg, etc.) that is periodically given to him at an
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