Food co-ops and other cooperative organizations used to own more of the supply chain. In the wave one co-ops of the 40s and 50s, Co-op branded products could be found on the shelves. Cooperative food warehouses were a key cog in the wave two food co-ops during the 60s and 70s. Imagine food co-ops using their money to support cooperatively-owned businesses from the farm all the way to the register.
This is not to say that isn't happening at many stores. Food co-ops support cooperative brands like Frontier spices, Organic Valley and Equal Exchange. Co-ops in my area save money on group-negotiated utility contracts and more from a cooperative called the Community Purchasing Alliance. But the scale could be increased significantly.
The time to systematically begin building more of a close-looped system into our cooperative economy is now. The more we can keep dollars circulating within other cooperatively-owned businesses, the more we can all benefit from the resulting wealth accumulation. We don't need to start with perfection, but we do need to start somewhere. Look locally for cooperative organizations you can buy services from.
Just squeeze principles 3 and 6 together in your head: Cooperation Through Economic Participation Among Cooperatives.
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