More about Produce

This week the Kawartha Eco Growers, my produce co-op, told us that in 1960 most of Toronto's food came from within 350 kilometres of the city, or almost entirely from its foodshed. Today, however, at least 60% of the fresh produce consumed in Toronto is imported from the United States, and a third of it arrives in Ontario's own growing season.

My family isn't perfect. We buy produce from KEG every week and I try to buy Ontario grown produce when I see it in the store. If I want blueberries but none from Ontario are available, I don't sweat it, I still buy the U.S. ones. We sometimes buy meat from the organic butcher but we also regularly buy meat at the grocery store. I'm starting to buy more organic staples like milk, bread, and eggs but it's not always the case. I use cloth diapers, but not all the time. I recycle and compost but I also seem to throw a lot of stuff in the garbage. I try to buy used furniture and baby goods but we also own a lot of disposable furniture from IKEA. We all do the best we can and we can all do more.

"We get cheap food at a price... not measured in money, but in untallied debts that will be paid by our children in the currency of extinctions, economic unravellings, and global climate change." - Barbara Kingsolver