In my journey to find barter related news, I ran across a lengthy story about backyard chickens and the culture that is forming around the idea of home-production. The article, written by a lawyer who raises his own chickens, describes how the new urban elite want to be self-sufficient, independent, and less tied to the local grocery store. It also describes barter in a way that I would like to see become a mantra for our industry.
When people raise and make food to eat, and barter it in exchange for that which others made, true community ends up being built. To barter means also to share, and to interact with neighbors in a way that generates meaning and trust. You do not cheat someone with whom you will need to barter again. Such barter-exchange cannot be treated as a zero-sum game, it is something that requires that all participants benefit, and that no one lose.
I would like to see it this way, for the industry: Whether you are a member of an exchange or own an exchange, being part of a barter exchange requires that all participants benefit, and that no one lose.
You can read the whole story at http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/04/on-civic-agriculture-why-backyard-chickens-matter/
