Canada rules, but can we find their food?

JANUARY 3, 2008

A new year and a new project. I am determined to purchase Canadian produced food for one year. With two exceptions. I have an addiction to coffee and chocolate, so I have stretched my list to include fair trade products. Since I have been involved with the concept of 'Fair Trade' for over 10 years, I will continue to support those products. I purchase JustUs coffee, tea and sugar....packaged in Nova Scotia….and now will only buy Ganong Chocolates (for the next year).

I volunteer at a shop which supports Fair Trade Principles. This shop is a great source of information, and introduced me to the concept of a sustainable diet. This was exactly what I wanted to be doing, eating only what my area, and/or country could produce. But alas, in Atlantic Canada, we often are not producing year round.

In the last 4 years, I have had difficulty, at certain times of the year, finding Canadian potatoes, carrots and onions. Gee….isn’t NB famous for its potatoes? We should have them all year round. And if my husband and I can grow onions and carrots in our gardens…where are the Canadian farmers? I started looking in the frozen section. I found broccoli, then I started looking at can vegetables, I found a brand produced in NS. It was a start.

For the past few years, I have been checking more and more labels. I ask produce managers if they have any Canadian potatoes, carrots or onions. I get different answers. I do see more signs on the food, someone else must be asking as well.

January 2008, the real work begins. My friend Whitefeather has agreed to help me start a blog.

I am eager to start.