The Ocean Beach People’s Organic Foods Market has engaged the world with a business model for sustainable agriculture. Eighteen delegates from the Chinese province of Jiangsu visited the market Oct. 30 for a behind-the-scenes look at its operations and “green” philosophy. “It’s very encouraging to see the world taking an interest in what we think is going to be one of the most important issues of the foreseeable future — how we produce our food,” said the market’s general manager, Nancy Casady. The delegates included bureaucrats from municipal, state and county environmental and agricultural organizations from within the province that is located in western China. None of the delegates spoke English and communicated through an interpreter. “The purpose is to see what the organization is, how to manage the store and how to control it,” the group’s interpreter said about the visit. The visit lasted about an hour. Through the interpreter, Casady explained how the market operates and fielded questions from the delegates. The delegates were then given a tour of the entire facility from the ground floor to the solar panels on its roof. Although there were a few communication snags during the visit, Casady said sustainable agriculture is a language every human is fluent in. “It’s that connection between so many diverse ideologies,” Casady said. “Here’s a place where we’re really all coming together as common inhabitants of Planet Earth.” Casady, who has been with the market for 14 years, believes that sustainable agriculture is the future of the world. She said fossil fuels are running out. “There were a limited number of dinosaurs that died and were compressed into coal and oil and we’re coming to the end of that,” Casady said. “We’ve been on an extraction plan — extracting resources — and what we need to be on is an enhancing plan, where we’re putting things back into our natural systems.” The market stays away from fossil fuels by only offering organic products, Casady said. The growing process is what makes organic food sustainable. “It starts with growing the dirt,” Casady said. “Once you have the proper nutrients in the soil, the plants are healthier. They have more nutrients in them and you do not have to be reliant upon fossil fuels.” The organic food market started in OB as a small neighborhood buying club in 1971. For the first 14 years, it operated as a worker’s collective until workers voted to make it a cooperative in 1985. It currently has 105 employees and brings in about $35,000 per day. By definition, a cooperative is a business that is owned by its customers. In addition to being completely green, the co-op concept is what makes the market unique. For $15 annually, a customer gets member pricing at the market and one voter share. The market is run by a board elected by the co-op’s voters. “We’re locally owned. This is really a true community enterprise owned by the customers who shop here,” Casady said. OB People’s Organic Foods Market is located at 4765 Voltaire St. in Ocean Beach. For more information, visit www.obpeoplesfood.coop.