Canadian bananas? Grow-local movement thriving amid tariff threats

As many Canadians worry about the cost of groceries amid looming tariff threats from the United States and China, some produce growers are looking to ease consumer uncertainty with grown in Canada solutions.

“My joke is that bananas are now the easiest thing for me to grow in Saskatchewan, Canada,” said Dean Sopher.

Sopher is the founder of Arkopia, an Aberdeen, Sask. business that creates freeze-dried smoothies, provides homesteading advice and fresh produce.

The operation is run by Sopher and his wife, a journey he said was brought on the uncertainty of food prices.

“I don’t trust anything anymore. So, to be resilient for myself and family, I thought this was the best route to literally start a small farm and homestead. And life is greater because of it.”

Sopher recommends his lifestyle to anyone worried about their food.

A similar sentiment was shared by Ian Pasloski, the sole proprietor for IG fresh produce in Regina.

“There’s always the demand for great produce. And it’s just one of those things that you can always have more farmers.”

Pasloski says that while not all Canadians share the desire to grow their own food, many are expressing their desire to at least purchase locally.

“I see a lot more people going to farmers markets. People are actually more enthusiastic on community forums on Facebook,” said Pasloski.

“I think people want that quality produce and that quality farm connection… but they’re just not getting it by going to the grocery store all the time.”

Mike Newhook, owner of Vertical Roots in Edmonton says his business is feeling the love of the shop local movement.

“It’s even more popular now with all the uncertainty,” said Newhook.

“We have over quadrupled our private orders per week, which is not massive in the world of business, but in our world gets us to the point where we’re nearly out, so that’s massive for us.”

“It’s good for Canadians to think about where our food comes from and just become more aware,” said Navin Ramankutty, a professor of food systems sustainability at the University of British Columbia.

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“Even if we can’t increase our production by a huge amount, it’s probably good if people are getting more engaged in the food system and thinking about growing their own,” he added.

However, Ramankutty says there remains a need to strike a balance between utilizing new technology to increase Canadian production and creating good trade relationships with other countries.

“We could increase our production of lettuce and production of leafy greens. We can grow them during the summer. We can grow them in greenhouses. And people are starting to grow them vertical (greenhouses). So we can become more self-sufficient for somethings.

“But I think things like bananas and avocados, we just will continue being dependent on the other countries.”

Non-profits like Ottawa’s Just Food, which supports urban and rural food and farming issues, say it’s feeling the pressure from a growing number of Canadians who want to grow their own food.

“The demand for accessing community garden spaces has been increasing at a large pace, where there’s not enough land access to meet the demand for a growing food in this space for the people who want to grow food,” said Kate Veinot, Just Food’s director of operations and neighbourhood planning.

“We have to look at other opportunities or what opportunities exist to be able to break down that barrier of land access in order to help facilitate this increase in food production, both at the household level, but also at an economic level, business development level as well.”

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