Kushank Bajaj could not have asked for a better time than late January to launch his website Canada Food Flows.
The site allows users to track where popular fruits and vegetables bought in Canada are grown.
Now, with U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods looking likely, many Canadians are talking about buying Canadian products.
“We were going to launch it anyway, and it just happened to be that it coincided with tariffs,” said Bajaj, whose original goal was to help people understand the environmental impact of food systems.
But it is not clear that Canadians are buying more Canadian produce yet. Sources say this may be because it is difficult to determine what items are Canadian goods.
“Unfortunately, to be honest with you, we’re not seeing that [increased support for local farmers],” said Lauren van Ewyk, a sheep farmer in southwestern Ontario.
Van Ewyk, who is also CEO of the National Farmers Mental Health Alliance, says many farmers are nervous and stressed about how tariffs could impact them. Many are still waiting to see a surge in community support.
“During Covid, when our supply chain was impacted, we saw Canadians flocking to the farmers’ markets. [The markets] were so busy, and there was a real sense of, ‘If you want to eat, get to know your farmer.’ We’re not seeing that same kind of outcome in light of the tariffs yet.”
Made in Canada?
The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner for food products. About 60 per cent of Canada’s food exports go to the U.S., and about half of Canada’s food imports come from the U.S.
Canadian farmers are nervous about how a trade war with their largest trading partner would impact them, says Shawn Benn, chair of both the Ontario Potato Board and the Ontario Fruit Vegetable Growers Association.
There is “just a lot of uncertainty,” said Benn, a fourth-generation potato farmer in Flamborough, Ont. Farmers do not know if the U.S. will impose tariffs on their products — or how the Canadian government will respond if it does.
Benn says he hopes the tariff uncertainty causes more consumers to buy local produce.
“I only hope that this does stimulate a bigger conversation with consumers that makes them re-evaluate just how important it is to support local,” he said.
But supporting local farmers can be complicated.
“There’s not a sticker on every piece of fruit or vegetable that you buy,” said Michael von Massow, an associate professor at the University of Guelph.
Consumers need to learn the difference between something that is “a product of Canada” and “made in Canada,” says von Massow, who teaches in the university’s department of food, agricultural and resource economics.
Items labelled “product of Canada” are entirely made in Canada using only Canadian ingredients.
Products “made in Canada” are mostly — but not entirely — manufactured in Canada or contain mostly Canadian ingredients
But labels do not tell the whole story.
Some Canadian food manufacturers use Canadian products during the summer when they are in season, and products from other countries during the winter. Von Massow says he knows of a salsa company in this situation. “They don’t put ‘product of Canada’ on their labels, because it’s not a product of Canada one hundred per cent of the time,” he said.
Some Canadian companies own farms in the U.S., but then transport it to Canada where it is processed at Canadian factories. But then some American companies, like PepsiCo., manufacture products like Frito Lays potato chips in Canadian factories using Canadian produce.
“I think everyone has to decide what their own personal standard is, how willing they are to be flexible, and then do the research that answers the question for them,” he says.
Von Massow recently started eating Mini Wheats cereal instead of Cheerios because Mini Wheats are made in Canada.
He noted that Canadians concerned about U.S. tariffs can also purchase produce from other countries. Purchasing Mexican avocados or Peruvian green beans can help maintain relationships with other trade partners, he says.
“We’re not mad at those people, and they’re not treating us poorly,” he said.
‘Not an easy chore’
Some food researchers say it is impossible for Canadian consumers to only purchase Canadian produce.
“Being a cold country, there are certain fruits and vegetables that we just cannot grow at all,” said Bajaj, who works for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Canadians likely do not realize how much of the produce they eat is not from Canada. For example, Canada gets a lot of produce — including garlic and some varieties of apples — from China. “Our produce aisles are a global marketplace,” Bajaj said.
On average, 75 per cent of the fruit and 50 per cent of the vegetables Canadians ate each year between 2018 and 2022 were imported, says Bajaj.
But there are some exceptions. Almost all potatoes eaten in Canada are grown here. Some Canadian produce, like apples and carrots, can be stored and sold in Canada year-round. Canada imports less produce during the summer.
Others say eating more or exclusively Canadian produce is possible if consumers change their habits.
If Canadians want to eat more Canadian food — or only Canadian food — they will need to be flexible and content with “considerably less choice,” said von Massow. Rice, for example, would be out. People would need to get used to eating more frozen vegetables too, he says.
Eating only Canadian “is not an easy chore,” said van Ewyk, the farmer. Canadians have grown used to buying produce from other countries.
She grows her own meat, cans vegetables, fruits and juices, and bakes bread made with Canadian wheat. But van Ewyk knows not everyone has the same access to fresh produce.
Buying local produce can be more expensive, she says. But canning or freezing produce and buying large quantities of in-season crops can make it more cost-effective over the long run, she says.
“That might seem very trivial,” she says of the impact of preserving food. “It’s actually very important.”
Thank you for this informative article.
I would like to see something simple, such as a Canadian flag sticker, on all items that are either a Product of Canada or Made in Canada in all stores. Not everyone has time to read the labels and I, for one, cannot read the labels due to poor eyesight. The sticker would sure help.
Nanaimo food stores have labeled Canadian produce and other food items. It makes shopping easier and I believe the majority of shoppers choose Canadian items first.