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CSA shareholder food lifestyle behaviors: a comparison across consumer groups

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Abstract

Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs are transforming the way people relate to food and agriculture. Many researchers have considered the transformative potential of CSAs on economic, social, and environmental relations. They illustrate how participants are embedded in broader political economic transformations. The same focus, however, has not been given to CSAs’ transformative impact on individual shareholders—especially in terms of their relationship to food and health. We draw together literatures from behavioral economics, econometrics, and political ecology to evaluate the potential impacts of CSA participation on food lifestyle behaviors. Using primary data drawn from a survey of four groups with distinct food acquisition environments, we compare respondents’ self-assessed food-related behaviors along three different categories: (1) produce versus processed food consumption, (2) food away from home consumption, and (3) food acquisition and interest in nutrition. By documenting between-group differences, we confirm that shareholders display significant absolute differences to other groups along numerous indicators related to the above-stated categories and in general assessments of health. These differences correspond directionally to behaviors public health officials identify as correlated to beneficial health outcomes. We conclude by theorizing how the food environments delineated by a CSA exchange relationship provide unique reflexive opportunities for participants to develop diverse food-related skills and behaviors.

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Notes

  1. See http://www.lohas.com for detailed discussion on how different LOHAS consumer groups are categorized.

  2. For CSA shareholders this question was phrased ‘what factors caused you to join your CSA initially?.’

  3. This observation draws from the work of practice theorists, but is based on the lead author’s experience and collaboration with volunteers in ecological restoration projects.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service through the 2014 Farmers’ Market Promotion Program under Grant 14-FMPPX-KY-0072.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA

    Jairus Rossi & Alison F. Davis

  2. Department of Economics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    James E. Allen IV

  3. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA

    Timothy A. Woods & Alison F. Davis

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  1. Jairus Rossi
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  4. Alison F. Davis
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Correspondence to Jairus Rossi.

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Rossi, J., Allen, J.E., Woods, T.A. et al. CSA shareholder food lifestyle behaviors: a comparison across consumer groups. Agric Hum Values 34, 855–869 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-017-9779-7

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