17-11-2012, 07:23 AM
(This post was last modified: 25-11-2012, 04:52 AM by Adele Edisen.)
Keith Millea Wrote:Back in 1972,I moved to a very remote coastal mountain town in Oregon.I was part of the "back to the land" counterculture movement that had outgrown the Haight/Ashbury scene.This was a place where the closest supermarket was 45 miles of bad road away.
We started and organized a food co-op that would pick up our goods from the wholesale food-co-op in Eugene.We would fill out our orders,then we would send someone into town to pick up the food.Once back,members helped sorting and weighing all the orders for individual households.This because items are bought in bulk form.It all worked great,and I'm pretty sure the co-op is still functioning today.
We also had a crew from our valley that joined the tree planting co-op "Hoedads".This entailed bidding on Govt.contracts to replant logged areas.This provided work for people at least until "others"came in with Mexican crews that could under bid everyone.
And,even before I moved out there,the electric company was a co-op.
Also,I might add,Ken Kesey's father started the Springfield Creamery,which was a local dairy farmers co-op.
So,here in Oregon,co-ops have been used for many years,and as the economy further shrinks,I think the co-op philosophy will only grow more stronger.
That's really interesting, Keith.
I had no idea that so many different types of cooperative bsinesses existed, so I did a search on Google for cooperatives in the US. Ben Franklin even had started one in 1752 and it is still operating today to insure buildings against fire damages. A food cooperative was started in 1844 in Rochdale, England.
Below is a short 11-page summary of cooperatives in the US, and their contrributions to the economy. Some everyday products you might find in your supermarkets are Land O'Lakes dairy products, Ocean Spray and Sunkist fruit juices.
http://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/info/stats/uscoopbus05.pdf
Adele