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Food Cooperatives in Canada

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Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics

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Introduction

Food has played a key role in the development of the cooperative model. From the initial offering by the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers of butter, sugar, flour, and oatmeal, cooperatives have provided access to food for those with limited means (Holyoake 1893). Cooperatives have addressed issues of access by involving the community in the development of firms that address basic needs such as food. This discussion will look at the development of cooperatives as these firms address a community’s basic need for food by applying the cooperative principles. The development of cooperatives and their guiding principles represent an ethical response to perceived injustices within the economic system.

This entry will look into the ethical question that revolves around the focus on capital within the investor-owned firm (IOF) and the focus on the member within the cooperative firm. The capital focus of an IOF drives the firm to look inward for efficiencies to produce higher returns on...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Business and Administration Department, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Simon Berge & Masud Khawaja

Authors
  1. Simon Berge
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  2. Masud Khawaja
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Correspondence to Simon Berge .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University Dept. Philosophy, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Paul B. Thompson

  2. University of North Texas Dept. Philosophy & Religion Studies, Denton, Texas, USA

    David M. Kaplan

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Berge, S., Khawaja, M. (2016). Food Cooperatives in Canada. In: Thompson, P., Kaplan, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_591-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_591-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6167-4

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