Food Conspiracy
Encyclopedia
Food Conspiracy is a term applied to a movement begun in the San Francisco Bay Area
in 1968 in which households pooled their resources to buy food in bulk from farmers and small wholesalers and distribute it cheaply. The name came to describe a loose network of autonomous
collectives which shared common values and, in many cases, suppliers. Many participants were seeking an alternative to supermarkets and became involved to obtain direct control of the quality and type of food they were sourcing, with a strong focus on wholefoods and organic produce
.
The adoption of the name 'food conspiracy' has been described by a participant as a "response to the Nixon
-Agnew
rhetoric of the time (which) had us all as communist conspirators against the state, the war and public morality."
Many leaflets circulated encouraging participation and a short how-to guide was published, 'The Great Food Buying Conspiracy', which offered a route map to sourcing fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese and organic dry goods. For fresh produce, monies would be pooled at a weekly order meeting and volunteers would then make an early morning visit to the wholesale vegetable market in Oakland or San Francisco to buy boxes and crates of organically grown fruits and vegetables. These would be returned to a central location, often a members' home, and made ready for collection later in the morning. In this way, members could achieve savings of up to 50%. Berkeley People's Office The Great Food Buying Conspiracy Mother Earth News. July 1970.
A key feature of each Food Conspiracy group was staying small, a situation maintained by groups splitting when reaching a certain size rather than keep on growing. Thus, the initial Berkley
conspiracy, established in 1969, had become eight distinct groups within less than a year and, by 1974, there were 60 conspiracies in the city with around 2,000 members. The scale of the groups tended to help ensure a high level of direct involvement in the practical roles required for its operation. Indeed, The Food Conspiracy Cookbook (1974) argues that "Conspiracies only work if all who benefit take an active part in its working and decisions."
In addition to investigating potential suppliers, key operating tasks would include compiling a listing of available goods, collating member orders, receiving and recording payments, picking up produce from growers, hosting deliveries from wholesalers, checking-in deliveries and weighing and assembling individual orders ready for collection by members. A group would collectively decide whether or not to apply a modest fee or add-on to build a small surplus to use for shared benefit.
Over time, some food conspiracies went on to formalise as food cooperatives, bulk
and natural foods distributors or developed as larger buying groups with a paid organiser. However, the conspiracy model - then and now - seeks to provide food to members by accomplishing all needed tasks collectively, without paid staff or a store front presence.
The trading name "Food Conspiracy" is used by a long-established wholefood co-op in Tucson, Arizona
which originated in 1971 with local political activists who formed a buying club to address difficulties in finding natural and organic food. The following year, it opened a storefront and since 1974 has operated from its present home at 412 N. Fourth Avenue. Originally run as a workers' collective, it later developed toward a consumer cooperative model. Today it provides a full-service food market, open to the public and with approximately 1,800 member-owners.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
in 1968 in which households pooled their resources to buy food in bulk from farmers and small wholesalers and distribute it cheaply. The name came to describe a loose network of autonomous
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
collectives which shared common values and, in many cases, suppliers. Many participants were seeking an alternative to supermarkets and became involved to obtain direct control of the quality and type of food they were sourcing, with a strong focus on wholefoods and organic produce
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
.
The adoption of the name 'food conspiracy' has been described by a participant as a "response to the Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
-Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
rhetoric of the time (which) had us all as communist conspirators against the state, the war and public morality."
Many leaflets circulated encouraging participation and a short how-to guide was published, 'The Great Food Buying Conspiracy', which offered a route map to sourcing fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese and organic dry goods. For fresh produce, monies would be pooled at a weekly order meeting and volunteers would then make an early morning visit to the wholesale vegetable market in Oakland or San Francisco to buy boxes and crates of organically grown fruits and vegetables. These would be returned to a central location, often a members' home, and made ready for collection later in the morning. In this way, members could achieve savings of up to 50%. Berkeley People's Office The Great Food Buying Conspiracy Mother Earth News. July 1970.
A key feature of each Food Conspiracy group was staying small, a situation maintained by groups splitting when reaching a certain size rather than keep on growing. Thus, the initial Berkley
Berkley
- Places :United Kingdom* Berkley, SomersetUnited States* Berkley, Colorado* Berkley, Iowa* Berkley, Maryland* Berkley, Massachusetts* Berkley, Michigan* Berkley, Virginia, formerly a town, and now a neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia...
conspiracy, established in 1969, had become eight distinct groups within less than a year and, by 1974, there were 60 conspiracies in the city with around 2,000 members. The scale of the groups tended to help ensure a high level of direct involvement in the practical roles required for its operation. Indeed, The Food Conspiracy Cookbook (1974) argues that "Conspiracies only work if all who benefit take an active part in its working and decisions."
In addition to investigating potential suppliers, key operating tasks would include compiling a listing of available goods, collating member orders, receiving and recording payments, picking up produce from growers, hosting deliveries from wholesalers, checking-in deliveries and weighing and assembling individual orders ready for collection by members. A group would collectively decide whether or not to apply a modest fee or add-on to build a small surplus to use for shared benefit.
Over time, some food conspiracies went on to formalise as food cooperatives, bulk
Bulk purchasing
Bulk purchasing is buying products in large quantities at a lower price per item, or unit price, than is available for smaller quantities. Wholesale is selling or related to selling goods in large quantities for resale to the consumer. Retailing is buying products in bulk at wholesale, and selling...
and natural foods distributors or developed as larger buying groups with a paid organiser. However, the conspiracy model - then and now - seeks to provide food to members by accomplishing all needed tasks collectively, without paid staff or a store front presence.
The trading name "Food Conspiracy" is used by a long-established wholefood co-op in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
which originated in 1971 with local political activists who formed a buying club to address difficulties in finding natural and organic food. The following year, it opened a storefront and since 1974 has operated from its present home at 412 N. Fourth Avenue. Originally run as a workers' collective, it later developed toward a consumer cooperative model. Today it provides a full-service food market, open to the public and with approximately 1,800 member-owners.
Further reading
- Food Conspiracy Cookbook SF: 101 Productions, 1974.
- San Francisco Chronicle, March 8, 2000. Food Section