Once the primary motivations respondents’ have for joining CSAs are identified,
the next step in developing an understanding of CSA membership dynamics is
examining correlations between motivations for joining CSAs and other variables
of theoretical importance identified in previous research. Based on past empirical
works an index of environmental values was created to represent the New
Environmental Paradigm (NEP), per the revised NEP Index developed by Dunlap
et al. (2000) to analyze the relationships between environmental values and
motivations for joining CSAs. The results are presented in Table 3 and indicate the
expected results: statistically significant correlations between motivations for
joining CSAs and environmental values where motivations are logically related to
environmental concerns. For example, motivations such as a desire for food free of
pesticides, organic food products,intrinsic part of the biological community and are governed by the same ecological
laws that govern other species (Dunlap et al. 2000). The concept of ecological
scarcity is central to this paradigm, and the strong correlations represent the
recognition of that scarcity and the related need to be proactive in actions to reduce
impacts on ecological systems. The NEP implies membership in, not dominion over,
the natural world and it underscores a need to limit growth and questions the
"rights" of human beings to modify the environment (Catton and Dunlap 1978;
Catton and Dunlap 1980; Dunlap et al. 2000).