There is an agricultural investment movement going on called Slow Money. And when Slow Money is invested into a CSA or community supported agriculture, the payoff will be slow food. Rates of return for these investments sometimes come in the form of pints, quarts, pecks and bushels, and the only interest involved in all of this is the interest in how well the crops have done. Those are the basics for the investment concept of Slow Money.
The entire object of the Slow Money movement is to allow organic agriculture to prosper. Prospering in this sense doesn’t always mean dollars and cents; in fact, in many cases it means breaking even while allowing the land to remain pure and natural for future harvests. It allows those that practice organic agriculture to spread and grow, perhaps even buying back old wasted farmland and turning it back into the natural way it used to be.
Communities invest in local organic farmers and their return can sometimes be organic food of all types. However, an investment today may not bring a return until next harvest, and quite possibly, may bring no tangible return at all. What all investments will bring ultimately is a healthier and better earth, less industrial agriculture, and benefits through environmental practices while educating the general public. It’s a philanthropist's dream come true!
Slow Money is all about giving back: giving back to the farmer, giving back to the community, giving back to the children who can witness a way of life that is healthier than processed food and pop machines. Most of all, it is about giving back to our mother earth and the goodness that we all desire and need.
This movement began in Italy about 20 years ago and is spreading on a world-wide basis. All local food systems are eligible to be involved, and this includes food processing services, restaurants and even artisans, which in the business are the people who create such things as jellies and cheeses.
Financial manager Woody Tasch started the movement based on the Italian principal, and even authored a book called "Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered" In less than five years there are already 750 members in this alliance, and needless to say, it is green and growing. One thing that is for sure about slow money investing is that even in the worst of economical times, sustainable agriculture still keeps on growing. So, if there are to be any returns made by investing with Slow Money, the payoff may be slow, but it is virtually guaranteed.
Thinking outside of the box is where the idea for Slow Money came from, and you can say that the entire essence of the green movement came from thinking outside of the box. Community-supported agriculture works by going to farmers markets and local co-ops, but it also works by investing with slow money too. Anything that makes it easier for sustainable agriculture to prosper is one of the best things we can do for our bodies, our minds and the planet earth, Because Action speaks louder than words!
Source: BecauseAction.com
