ABSTRACT

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) has the potential to reduce food loss and waste (FLW) due to a direct connection between consumers and producers, lower standards regarding product aesthetics and consumer-related values. Accordingly, CSA could compensate for possible yield gaps compared to conventional agriculture. Here, FLW and yields were assessed for one year in four CSA initiatives in the area of Leipzig, Germany, and compared to reference data. The results show that FLW during production, distribution and consumption were on average 22–70% lower compared to reference data. On average, due to lower FLW, the CSA initiatives could compensate for yield gaps of 32%, which reflects yield gaps typically observed between organic and conventional agriculture. Actual yield gaps in CSA might be lower, as agroecological approaches to increase productivity are widely adopted. The co-evaluation of the results with CSA gardeners showed that FLW could be further reduced in all stages. Reducing FLW was mentioned as an important sustainability goal of the investigated CSA initiatives, yet they also indicated a focus on biodiversity, education, food quality or the reduction of fossil fuels. This pilot study indicates that CSA can contribute to the transition towards sustainable and resilient food systems.

摘要

由于消费者和生产者之间的直接联系、产品美学和消费者相关价值观的标准较低，社区支持农业 (CSA) 有可能减少粮食损失和浪费 (FLW)。因此，CSA 可以弥补与传统农业相比可能存在的产量差距。此处，对德国莱比锡地区的四项 CSA 举措进行了为期一年的 FLW 和产量评估，并与参考数据进行了比较。结果表明，与参考数据相比，生产、分销和消费过程中的 FLW 平均降低了 22-70%。平均而言，由于 FLW 较低，CSA 举措可以弥补 32% 的产量差距，这反映了有机农业和传统农业之间通常观察到的产量差距。CSA 的实际收益率差距可能更低，随着提高生产力的生态农业方法被广泛采用。与 CSA 园丁的共同评估结果表明，FLW 在各个阶段都可以进一步减少。减少 FLW 被认为是所调查的 CSA 举措的一个重要可持续发展目标，但它们也表明了对生物多样性、教育、食品质量或减少化石燃料的关注。这项试点研究表明，CSA 有助于向可持续和有复原力的粮食系统过渡。