6 always more online @ eatdrinkmag.net issue twelve ? september 2008 FOOD WRITER AT LARGE

The Return to Flavour

How "Eating Local? is More than Just a Matter of Good Taste

By Bryan Lavery Like many people, I started to learn about the importance of local food at a young age by visiting the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair, farmer's markets, farm stands and a variety of small town fall fairs across Ontario. These experiences left an indelible impression on a young urbanite. They were the first opportunities that I had to get in touch with our local food heritage. "Good things grow in Ontario? - that's the message Foodland Ontario wants consumers to remember when they go food shopping. It's a catchy jingle and I recently realized how effective it is when I heard the children of one of my colleagues singing it while at play. After 30 years, Foodland Ontario continues to be a successful promotional program that helps raise consumer awareness and demand for Ontario food products in stores and in restaurants. By promoting and identifying the characteristics of quality Ontario products, Foodland Ontario's message communicates a vital Ontario food advantage: flavour. This campaign works with all agricultural sectors and builds on the importance of supporting farmers and purchasing fresh, locally grown, quality produce. It also concentrates on the more understated message of trust. When I say trust, I refer to the confidence we place in independent Ontario farmers, in their crops and products, in food safety, and in their contribution to the fabric of Ontario's food culture and economy. In 2006, 95% of principal grocery shoppers recognized the Foodland Ontario symbol and demonstrated a partiality to purchase Ontario produce. The most significant marketing term for food this past year is the word "local,? now entered in the popular lexicon as a brand for freshness, sea- sonality, sustainability and quality. The definition of "local? is open to wide interpretation depending on whom you are talking to, but is generally recognized as food grown or produced within a certain radius such as 50, 100 or 150 miles. The term "local? may also be seen from a more conceptual perspective of micro climate and naturally recurring geographic boundaries, as well as referring to an area that grows food for a specific population. Rose Mary White is a farmer, environmentalist, food security activist, project manager and co-founder with Dr. Kathleen McCully of London, Ontario's three-yearold City Farming Project. Dr. McCully is the City Farming Project's director, an avid gardener with a commitment to the environment and a long time advocate of accessible healthy food for low income Londoners. The City Farm Project is a sustainable organic farming co-operative and mentorship program that is comprised of over 60 skill-sharing community volunteers and 10 consulting faculty members from the University of Western Ontario. Rose Mary White is a staunch believer in social justice and our entitlement to nutritional integrity and food sovereignty. Food sovereignty, simply put, is our right to control and define what we eat and how we gather food. Many influences helped shape Rose's ethics and ideology over the years. One of the catalysts that awoke her to the issue of our right to food sovereignty came while accompanying her children on a school trip to see where food originates. The initial surprise was that the destination was a supermarket, not a farm. This led to a second surprise: there was no Ontario produce or fruit available in the supermarket. When I asked Rose to define local, she

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