Seikatsu Consumer Coop: Scaling-up Food System Transformation

Abstract

This case study is part of a research program of the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) looking at local food, sustainability and the social economy. It examines the Seikatsu Consumer Co-operative in Japan, a values-based consumer co-op that is committed to transforming food production and consumption based on re-localization and sustainability principles. This report begins with a discussion of local food systems to highlight in a general sense some of the key issues and promise of local food systems. It then provides a description of the SCC and concludes with a discussion of potential lessons for scaling-up food system transformation in Canada.