In theory, producing local food should be easy. Conjure the idyllic image of a yeoman farmer, brewer or jam maker toiling away and then carting the goods to the shop down the road.
But while farmers’ markets are nice, they represent only a tiny fraction of demand for Ontario growers. Everyone’s hankering for eats from close to home, but the fact is, the gap between the potential of local production and its reality is startlingly wide.
That’s because small producers face a number of barriers, from government regulations to a dearth of middle operators who can buy and sell wholesale. Here’s what sets limits on the creation of a local food industry.
INDIGESTIBLE TAXES
It used to be that growers could easily send their fruits and vegetables to local production facilities – to be made into jam, pickles, spreads, etc – and make a decent profit. But these operations are fewer and farther between now, leaving small farmers without key outlets to sell their raw produce. One solution is for entrepreneurial growers to create “value added” products themselves by processing the crops on site, turning apples into juice, or freezing peas. Unfortunately, doing this can mean paying a prohibitively expensive industrial tax rate instead of the significantly lower farm property tax rate (25 per cent of the municipal rate).
WHAT’S LOCAL ANYWAY?
There is no single definition of “local food,” and with demand growing among consumers for certifiably regional food, this means many well-meaning local producers can get shut out of a potentially lucrative game.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency defines local as food that comes from within 50 kilometres of where it’s sold, but by that standard Niagara and Prince Edward County products wouldn’t qualify after being brought to Toronto.
Foodland Ontario’s definitions, meanwhile, can be restrictive about what products can and cannot carry the local logo, particularly for mixed-ingredient foods. According to them, peach yogurt will not qualify as local even if all the milk comes from Ontario but the fruit does not. This might seem reasonable, but try finding a local peach processor (see below).
FAREWELL CANNERY ROW
Let’s say it straight: there are no fruit canneries left in Ontario. The CanGro plant in Niagara closed in 2008, leaving farmers – without a market for their fruit – to rip up their trees. Even Bick’s plant in Dunnville is scheduled to close this year, reducing the demand for any veggie likely to become a pickle. And small regional abattoirs are disappearing, to be replaced by massive national slaughterhouses designed for the export market. Food hubs outside the control of major food manufacturers and distributors are increasingly rare. It’s a bleak picture.
HEALTH REGS MADE FOR GIANTS
It’s possible to use provincially inspected abattoirs if you want the lamb you raised on the menu at a locavore resto. Just don’t expect Sobeys or Loblaws to go near your product unless you’ve had half the federal bureaucracy come through your facility, clipboards in hand, since only federally inspected meat can cross provincial lines. These federal inspectors take a one-size-fits-all approach, but even provincially regulated plants have to conform to many of the codes designed for industrial production. These can be very expensive for small-scale artisanal processors forced to make regular upgrades that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. You want to turn your pig into pork? Make sure you have the right kind of light fixtures and that your outdoor loading area is paved.
We’re all for strict health guidelines, but we’re sure Maple Leaf followed these, too. Wouldn’t we be more comfortable knowing the butcher wasn’t a cog in an assembly line?
