Vert-à-Go

Members of the Saskatoon Co-op are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting, which will be held Tuesday 21 April at 7pm.

The March newsletter addressed a number of environmental issues, outlining the Co-op’s green policies and initiatives. At the upcoming AGM, We Are Many Festival (WAM) organisers will be putting forth several environmentally-friendly resolutions. You will have the opportunity to vote  on LEED-standard building for all new Co-op edifices, independent energy audits of all existing buildings, and local food procurement (aka the perennial problem of pork, pickles, and potatoes).

If you’re a Co-op member (if you’re not, you can sign up at any Co-op store), come vote for these changes–they can have a dramatic impact on our city because the Co-op is one of our biggest companies.

When: Tuesday, 21 April, 6:30 registration, 7pm call to order

Where: Commonwealth Ballroom, Hilton Garden Inn, 90 22nd St E, Saskatoon (Google map)

For more information: Saskatoon Co-op web site, WAM Facebook group

How can we ensure a socially, environmentally, and financially-sustainable global economy? By creating sustainable local economies. That’s the thrust behind the conference kicking off tomorrow in Saskatoon, which aims to help Saskatchewan communities and businesses find a place in an economy that is rapidly becoming more focused on health and environmental sustainability.

“In Saskatchewan, as in much of the world, economic viability is increasingly sensitive to issues such as rising energy and transportation costs, distribution systems and concerns about climate change. As well, consumers are becoming ever more health and environmentally-conscious.

[This conference will be invaluable for] Saskatchewan producers, processors, vendors, business developers, community leaders, educators, and anyone interested in leading the charge to a healthy economy based on dynamic new ideas and business structures.” –conference program

Guest speakers include economist and community entrepeneur Michael Schuman (author of the blog Small-Mart), Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms, and Jim Green, the public voice of Kettle Chips, among others, who will discuss a wide variety of topics, including local food, sustainable practices, public spaces, value-added products, and marketing.  Their talks, special workshops, trade show, and networking opportunities can help you emplower your community, develop environmental stewardship, and ensure long-term economic viability in uncertain times.

Supporting the Growth of Local Living Economies in Saskatchewan conference
When: 24-25 March

Where: Saskatoon Inn, 2002 Airport Drive, Saskatoon, SK (Google map)

For more information: (306) 384-5817 or email seda@seda.sk.ca

Sponsored by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Corporation (SEDA) and the Saskatchewan Food Processors Association

The Environmental Working Group has just released the 5th edition of its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. This handy cut-out-and-carry card lists which fruits and vegetables have the highest (and lowest) levels of pesticides so you can see at a glance when it’s most important to buy organically-grown produce and when the benefits of organic are less dramatic.

An EWG simulation of thousands of consumers eating high and low pesticide diets shows that people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 15 least contaminated will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day. (Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides)

Living in Saskatchewan, it’s much easier to find organic versions of some of the Dirty Dozen than others, especially if you prefer to buy more locally-grown produce. For instance:

• I don’t remember ever seeing organic BC peaches, nectarines,  pears, or cherries–I have seen Washington-grown ones at Safeway, but their taste was disappointing (I’ve eaten amazing organic soft fruit while in Washington, so freshness is obviously the issue, not inherent quality!). Most times, I would really rather eat something else entirely rather than risk spending a lot of money on imported out-of-season fruit that turns out to be sour or woody.
• Grandora Gardens (at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market) and other vendors sell bell peppers treated with biological controls during late-spring/summer/early-autumn. You can grow your own in the summer.
• It has become much easier to buy organically-grown strawberries in the supermarket–both Safeway and Extra Foods often have Driscoll’s organic berries for sale during the spring and summer (imported from California). Local u-pick strawberries are not organically grown and although they certainly try to minimise chemical application, I am unsure about the level of pesticides involved. It’s pretty easy to grow your own–they are perennials and like all berries, taste a thousand times better picked straight off the plant.
• Organically-grown celery is easily found at (most/selected branches) Safeway, Sobey’s, and Extra Foods–let me know if you have trouble tracking it down.
• I’ve not seen organically-grown kale, but suspect it would be available at Dad’s–this is not really something I ever buy as there are so many other options for locally-grown greens (buy grow, freeze, or sprout your own year-round).
• Lettuce, again, is available from Grandora Gardens and other farmers’ market vendors in season. It is also ridiculously easy to grow your own from early May-September.
• Chilean grapes are often treated with up to 17 different pesticides. If you can’t find organic ones, US-grown grapes use fewer pesticides.
• Organically-grown carrots are available in grocery stores, but the ones from the farmers’ market are far superior in taste. I don’t know if conventional Saskatchewan carrot growers need to use as many pesticides on their carrots as those grown further south–our drier climate and colder winters can help reduce the need for many fungicides/insecticides.

And as far as the Clean 15 goes?

1. I tend to buy onions either from the farmers’ market, but I have no qualms about buying conventional Manitoba-grown ones from the grocery store.
2. I don’t buy a lot of avocados but will likely continue to get the odd regular one from the grocery store.
3. I tend to buy fresh corn in season from the farmers’ market, and then conventionally-grown frozen.
4. I generally have a greater concern about whether pineapple (and other tropical fruit) is fair trade and what the working conditions are for the farm workers than whether it’s organic.
5. I’m not a huge mango fan!
6. I buy asparagus in season from the farmers’ market. I never buy it from South America as the food miles are just too appalling.
7. I buy fresh peas from the farmers’ market and am still trying to find a large-enough, sunny-enough patch to grow my own. Otherwise, frozen conventional.
8. Kiwi fruit gives me an anaphylactic reaction, so I never buy them! It is very high on the list of allergy-inducing fruit, so be careful before giving it to children or serving it to guests.
9. I buy cabbage from the farmers’ market is so fresh and delicious and economical, but good to know that the grocery store is an acceptable backup.
10. I have personally never figured out how to make eggplant edible, myself! I’ll happily eat someone else’s.
11. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a papaya!
12. I never buy watermelon out of the summer season because it comes so far and tastes so dreadful, but will feel more comfortable about buying it from the grocery store when I do (now, if I could just find a fool-proof method for choosing a good one! Any advice?).
13. Interesting that broccoli rates so highly. I would have thought it would have ranked much worse because of all the tiny flowers that are vulnerable to pests! I like to buy it locally when it’s in season because it’s so beautiful and fresh, and bought organic when it’s on sale. But I will feel much happier about picking up a bag of regularly-grown from the bargain bin in future!
14. Again, interesting that tomatoes rated so highly. I would have thought they’d be worse, although I suppose if they’re grown in a greenhouse, pests are not a huge problem. My main issue is that grocery store tomatoes taste vile, and conventionally-grown tomatoes can be vulnerable to salmonella due to bad growing practices. Avoiding pesticide residue is not the only reason to buy organic! I grow my own in the summer, and buy from Grandora/other farmers’ market vendors during late spring/summer/autumn. (it takes a *lot* of energy to heat a greenhouse in Saskatchewan, or even BC, in the winter–very possibly moreso than growing them in a hot southern field and trucking them north). Seasonality is my main consideration–I haven’t bought a fresh tomato for months (and yes, I am missing them A LOT).
15. Sweet potato is something else that I’d usually get at the regular grocery store.

Here are the lists of the best and the worst–you can get a printable version of the EWG Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides that you can put in your wallet here. Remember, avoiding pesticide residue is not the sole reason for buying organically grown produce–organic practices can help improve soil, reduce water usage, improve environmental conditions for animals, birds, and insects, and may (but certainly not always!) go hand in hand with better working conditions for farm workers. It often (but again, certainly not always) may have a lower risk of disease or contamination. Conversely, local conventionally-grown produce may in fact have a better environmental footprint than imported organic. But reducing pesticide exposure is a pretty major concern for most organic consumers, and so it pays to know exactly what you’re eating.

The Dirty Dozen (always buy organic)

1. peach
2. apple
3. bell pepper
4. celery
5. nectarine
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. kale
9. lettuce
10. grapes–imported (this is a US guide, so this would mean non-US-grown grapes)
11. carrot
12. pear

The Clean 15 (lowest in pesticides)

1. onion
2. avocado
3. corn
4. pineapple
5. mango
6. asparagus
7. peas
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon
13. broccoli
14. tomato
15. sweet potato

Tomatoes, spinach, peppers, processed meat, cheese, hamburger, peanuts…sounds like a fairly average shopping list, right? At various points over the past few years, however, each of these foods has been sold with a heaping secret helping of salmonella, listeriosis, or e. coli. Thousands of people have been made sick by these contaminated foods, dozens have died, and many innocent food growers, producers, and processors have been caught in the economic fallout caused by the outbreaks.

The latest exciting poisoned food saga involves peanuts contaminated with salmonella (677 made ill, 9 dead). A peanut processing plant in Georgia linked to the outbreak was found to have dead rats and cockroaches infesting the facility, not to mention big holes in the roof right above piles of peanuts waiting for processing (fyi: salmonella just loooves it damp). Another Peanut Corporation of America plant in Texas was later shut down after a crawlspace was found to contain dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers and that particles from these delightful items were being sucked through the building’s ventilation system. The kicker? Well, there’s at least three kickers:

1. PCA’s in-house inspectors knew that their peanut butter contained salmonella and yet knowingly went ahead and shipped tainted products on at least a dozen occasions since 2007–at the repeated urging of CEO Stewart Parnell.
2. The PCA was certified organic and its certification was completely up-to-date. I guess rats (and rat feces) are, technically, ‘organic’…
3. One of the PCA’s major customers, Kellogg, hired private food safety inspectors who had no experience inspecting peanut processing facilities and who were given insufficient access by plant managers to do their job. Oh, and they weren’t required to test for salmonella. So they didn’t.

One of the most horrible aspects of serious food-illness outbreaks is that so many people are made sick and die before the cause of the infection can even be found (overwhelmingly, children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems are those who fall victim first). This is due in large part to the incredible complexity of the modern industrial food production, processing, and distribution system, which means that contaminated food outbreaks are no longer limited to a single company or product, or even to the same area of the world (as the melamine-tainted Chinese milk scandal proved).

You’ll remember how meat products from that one Maple Leaf plant in Ontario quickly found their way into dozens of different stores and food outlets, killing unsuspecting people across the entire country last summer. As another example, the Peanut Corporation of America provided peanut products for about 85 different companies who used them in their own processed food products. So although most people would be wary of peanut butter, it might not occur to them to be concerned about energy bars, crackers, or ice cream cones. None of these products come with a huge Peanut Corporation of America logo (or skull and crossbones) on them, so we have to rely on the food recall updates provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to find out what we should be avoiding.

Sad to say, it’s important to diligently keep abreast of these alerts in order to protect yourself and your family. An easy way to keep on top of the latest information is to sign up to receive email notification of food product recalls relevant to Canadian consumers straight from the CFIA, and check out the food safety resources below. It’s also vital to ask questions about where your food is coming from and find out how it is produced. Too often, the consumer is expected to bear the majority of the burden of preventing food-borne illness (don’t mix up your cutting boards! never undercook your turkey!), while unscrupulous growers, producers, and processors are left free to play Russian roulette with our health by selling us their dirty and dangerous food.

Food safety resources

• CFIA’s consumer centre Food illness fact sheets, up-to-the-minute information on food recalls and allergy alerts
• Barf Blog Dr Doug Powell bluntly dishes the dirt on all things related to food safety
• Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education Advice and information to help Canadian consumers improve food handling practices
• Food Safety First A political action site sponsored by Canada’s food inspectors, urging greater government investment in food safety
• Health Canada’s food safety resources (many the same as on the CFIA site)
• Provincial restaurant inspection contacts Alarmed by a dirty restaurant? Find out who to contact about it here.

Local Bounty Saskatoon is a one-day conference organised by Tourism Saskatoon that brings Saskatchewan farmers and food producers together with local chefs. Learn more about how to buy and sell locally-produced food, enjoy a delicious lunch, browse the trade fair booths, and meet one-on-one with future partners. It’s a great networking opportunity that will strengthen the local food economy and result in some truly memorable meals!

Local Bounty Saskatoon

When: Sunday 8 March, 10am-4pm

Where: Saskatoon Club, 417 21st St E, Saskatoon, SK (Google map)

Registration: $30+GST (fax the registration form to Donna at (306) 787-0715 before 27 February)

For more information: Local Bounty, mahabir.r@sasktel.net (Chair), Tim.Ouelette@sasktourism.com

Terroirs are “vibrant and innovative spaces that define the people who live there and reflect a marriage between traditions, culture and the natural environment.”

The Terroir Identity and Seduction Symposium (presented by the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise (ACF) and its partner, the University of Regina’s Institut francais) plans to bring entrepreneurs, farmers, governments, researchers and consumers together reflect on the enormous potential of terroir development for Saskatchewan’s rural communities.

Symposium participants will attend Saskatchewan-focused workshops dealing with a variety of local themes (regional development, culture and food, organic/natural gardening, agri-tourism, project development, and slow food, among others). The weekend’s schedule also includes discussion panels, a local taste show and gala banquet (featuring La Raquette à Claquettes).

Terroir Identity and Seduction Symposium

When: 20-22 February

Where: Saskatoon Inn, 2002 Airport Drive, Saskatoon, SK (Google map)

COST: $20 (show only), $50 (banquet only), $100 individuals/$150 corporate (entire event)

For more information: Terroir Symposium web site, or call the ACF at 1-800-991-1912

The WinterShines Festival will kick off tomorrow night at Market Square (the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market). Everyone is invited to come celebrate all the fun and beauty that the Saskatoon winter has to offer during this fun 16-day festival. The opening ceremonies will begin at 6:30pm and there will also be ice carvings, entertainment, and hot chocolate throughout the evening. Don’t forget to dress warmly, bring a lantern, and join in for the in motion “Illuminate the Night” walk.

The River Landing Market Showcase will also take place between 6-9pm, so head inside to warm up and enjoy the hospitality of your friendly local farmers, food vendors, and merchants! Samples of market food and beverages will be on offer and there will be music throughout the evening.

River Landing Market Showcase/WinterShines 2009 Festival kick-off

When: Saturday 24 January, 6-9pm

Where: Market Square (Saskatoon Farmers’ Market), River Landing, 414 Ave B South, Saskatoon, SK (Google map)

For more information: WinterShines Festival, Tourism Saskatoon, (306) 242-1206

“Do you know where I could find pork products that are natural…from happy pigs, etc?”

- Rachel, Saskatoon

I am not a fan of the way most pigs are treated to provide grocery stores with quantities of pork. Permanently confined in a windowless smelly building on hard bare floors in cramped conditions, large-scale pig barns certainly do not allow pigs to express their “pigness”, as Joel Salatin would say. It is a cruel way to raise these animals, who would spend their time foraging and rooting if left to their own devices. I also found, when I used to buy it years ago, that grocery store pork often had a nasty backtaste to it–to me, it sometimes smelled (and seemed to taste) like a pig barn! I now buy my pork from Pine View Farms. It has a wonderful flavour with none of that taste. They don’t raise the pigs themselves on their own farm, but sub-contract out to another farmer near Hague, who raises them in small numbers on straw:

“Our hogs are raised according our All Natural protocol. No antibiotics, growth hormones or animal byproducts are fed or administered. We do not use gestation crates, sows roam free and farrow in birthing pens on straw. The feeder pigs can roam around outside and root in deep straw to satisfy their natural instincts.” –Pine View Farms web site

We usually buy a side of pork from them at a time, but there are a number of retailers in town who sell their products. Steep Hill Co-op usually has chops, bacon, and ground pork. Their bacon and chops are available at Dad’s Nutrition Centre, as well as their mild Italian and chorizo sausage. Greystone and Attridge Co-ops also stock Pine View pork (cuts will vary). It is cheaper to buy directly from Pine View Farms, however. You can go out to the farm store, or they will also deliver to your house for a flat fee of $18/order. I have combined an order for friends in the past, which saves on time and gas for everybody.

There will soon be another option for pork raised to ‘beyond organic’ standards in the Saskatoon area: Lori Walldner, a former organic producer of pastured livestock, is now marketing a variety of food products by organic fellow-farmers ranging from meat and eggs to grains and (coming this summer) vegetables. She expects to have pork available in March–I’ll post again on her other products when I have more information (I’m also double-checking a longer list of Saskatchewan producers and suppliers and will add it when it’s done).

Naturally and/or organically-raised pork (Saskatoon area)

Pine View Farms ph: (306) 239-4763

Lori Walldner ph:(306) 955-8402