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Good news for fans of canned foods, drinks, beer and all other things accessible via can opener and pull tab: manufacturers are beginning to make cans with linings free of bisphenol-A (BPA). According to a evaluation of companies’ performance on addressing the problem of BPA in packaging, produced by Green Century Capital Management (Green Century), Hain Celestial, H.J. Heinz, ConAgra and General Mills have begun using BPA-free cans for some of their product lines.

The Canadian government has officially noted BPA as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. It’s an estrogen mimic that’s commonly used in the epoxy that’s used to line cans to protect us from the metal and extend product shelf life. It’s also used in higher levels on thermal-print receipts.

Exposure to BPA is a health issue. But it’s also an environmental issue, as BPA accumulates in the biosphere. The Canadian Government order states, “On the basis of expected continued or increasing exposure of biota, and information indicating the potential for long-term adverse effects to organisms within the range of concentrations currently measured in the environment, it is considered appropriate to apply a precautionary approach when characterizing ecological risk. Therefore, it was concluded that bisphenol A is entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity.”

Major manufacturers phased out plastic water bottles made of polycarbonate, a plastic that can contain BPA, over a year ago, and the Canadian government banned polycarbonate baby bottles made with BPA in 2008. But BPA still lurks in most can linings. While the exposure we would get from drinking one can of pop or eating one can of soup is miniscule, and we appear to eliminate the BPA quickly, it’s detectable in Canadians’ urine. Research recently released by Statistics Canada’s Canadian Health Measures Survey shows that “Canadians aged 6 to 79 had a geometric mean concentration of urinary BPA of 1.16 micrograms per litre. Concentrations of BPA in urine based on volume were higher for children aged 6 to 11 than they were for adults aged 40 to 79. Moreover, the highest concentrations were measured in teens aged 12 to 19.”

Why does this matter? While studies to date have focused on BPA in animals, it’s clear that the substance is an estrogen mimic, and is linked to reproductive health and fertility issues, particularly due to exposure prenatally and in the first years of life, as well as increased risk for breast cancer, among other health concerns. Today, there’s new evidence that BPA exposure can reduce sperm quality.

Canada has been ahead of the curve in banning BPA in some products and in listing the substance as a toxin. Do you think the government should ban BPA altogether?

It’s spotty. It’s misshapen. It has a couple of small but suspicious-looking holes. But it’s from a tree once part of an orchard, likely cultivated over a hundred years ago. It’s an old variety, and the tree was left to grow organically for dozens of years.

Yes, I would eat this apple. Maybe with a knife, cutting out a few bits, but yes, I would enjoy its sweet tartness, free of any waxes and traces of chemical aftertaste. I’m trying to embrace the idea that good food doesn’t need to look like perfect food. That flavour and health benefits, not to mention benefits to the local ecosystem, far outweigh aesthetics. As Joni Mitchell said, “Give me spots on apples. But leave me the birds and the bees. Please!”

How about you – do you eat carrots with two legs, lumpy squashes, spotty apples and other imperfect fruit?

Last Thursday I attended a Harvest Festival in my neighbourhood. Members of the community have pooled their time and energy toward planting and nurturing fruit trees in Ben Nobleman park in Toronto, and they hosted a festival with music, a talent show and orchard tours to share their success with the neighbourhood. With the help of the city’s Parks and Forestry department, a grant from a garden tool company and some determination, the group has managed to bring fruit trees, including apricot, plum and pear trees, as well as serviceberry, through hot summers and a cold winter, such that they look healthy and established.

Why bother to grow fruit in parks, when fruit can be bought from local grocers? According to Susan Poizner, one of the group’s organizers, the goals of the project are to teach kids that fruit doesn’t have to come wrapped in plastic, to meet neighbours and to get together to be social. It seemed to be working: Kids were loving the fresh fruit (albeit not from those trees, but from other Ontario sources).

Here are a few fruit-growing tips Susan shared as part of her tour of the park:
- Pear trees are among the hardiest fruit trees
- You need to plant multiple trees of the same type, or there should be more of the same kind of tree in the area, in order to ensure cross pollination. (Trees need to be pollinated with pollen from other trees.)
- When trees are just getting established, remove their fruit in its early growth stages in order to encourage the tree itself to grow
- Avoid dwarf fruit trees: they are more fragile
- Attract bees and other pollinators to your fruit trees with a pollinator garden, comprised of native wildflowers and hardy herbs.
- Mount birdhouses around your fruit trees to encourage birds to nest. Birds can help control pests that may affect your fruit trees.
- Mulch heavily around the base of your trees, leaving the base of the trunk exposed to the air. Mulching helps prevent evaporation and protects the roots in winter.
- Accept that home-grown fruit may have some imperfections. “It may not be perfect, but it teaches us what real food looks like,” say Susan.

The plans for the park didn’t come together without some controversy. Read about it here.

What do you think, can mini-orchards work in community parks?

“If you ate today, thank a farmer.” That’s one of my favourite bumper-sticker slogans. According to the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (OASC), Ontario’s locally grown food supply is at risk because of record debt loads held by Ontario farms.

While most of us are enjoying the literally fruits of farmers’ labour right now, the market experience doesn’t show the hard work required to bring us that food, and the lack of certainty for farmers amid a maze of legislation and a changing climate, among other concerns. OASC notes that Statistics Canada is forecasting a national farm income loss of over $164 million this year. Farmers rely on government programs to help deal with uncertainties, and, particularly small farms that produce a range of foods rather than one thing, are saying that those programs aren’t helping them.

It’s not just about food, it’s about jobs. According to the OASC, there are over 80,000 on-farm jobs and 718,000 jobs across Ontario’s agri-food sector. And it’s about our environment. Small farms are connected to the landscape and have a better understanding of their impact on local communities. The OASC says, “Our farm families readily adopt beneficial practices that contribute to environmental improvement – leaving the land and water better off.”

So what can the average Canadian do? Well, certainly there’s the tasty element: enjoy top-quality food produced as close to your home as possible, whether it’s berries, vegetables, cheeses, milk, breads, eggs or meats, or the jams, sauces and other more processed products that can be made with our high-quality local foods. We should ask our local retailers about seeing local goods in store. Sure, some of them are trying, but move beyond the storefront display and much of the food comes from other countries.

But we can also ask our MPs and MPPs to refine agricultural stability programs so that they better support smaller-scale farmers. We can ask them to fund programs that help identify local food for area residents, such as the Local Food Plus program, the Local Flavours program, and others that support specific Canadian regions. And we can ask for more transparent food labeling, so food wouldn’t simply be labelled “Product of Canada” (as it can be now, with massive loopholes) but would show a detailed breakdown of how much of the food is Canadian, so we can more readily decide what we want to buy.

Do you have any suggestions as to how the average Canadian can support local food producers?

We’re heading into mid February, and while we’ve had a relatively mild winter here in Toronto, it still feels long! No doubt our grandmothers’ root cellars would be getting a tad depleted by this time of year, and our stores are no different today: local vegetables, even those that keep well, are less available, so if you’re committed to local eating, try to look away from that produce from California, not to mention Israel!

I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy Ontario foods while eating out recently. Last week I took my mom and my partner to The Local Company, a Toronto restaurant located on the Danforth. (Disclosure: I heard about the restaurant via a media release, but they didn’t know I was coming – I received no special treatment.) I’d practically given up scanning menus for local options, so it was lovely to see ingredients such as celeriac, parsnips, onions, butternut squash, beets as well as maple syrup, cheeses and locally raised meats such as veal, chicken and pork. Apparently Chef Steven Wilson creates condiments, garnishes and ice creams in house. The meal was a delish treat in many ways – it felt great to support local farmers in February!

Homemakers magazine’s food editor, Andrew Chase, is a big supporter of eating sustainably, so he also develops many recipes with seasonal ingredients. A few of my favourites for this time of year are Stuffed Turnips, Scalloped Celery Root and Coq au Vin.

Are you finding ways to work with local ingredients through the winter?
Have you found a restaurant that features local food? Tell me about it!

I love eating locally — not just the idea of it, but the flavours of unusual varieties, like the Cippolini onions from Pfennings Farms in Baden, Ont. and potatoes called “cranberry reds” from Kawartha Farms. While local produce offerings may be slimming down at this time of year, I know many of them can still take centre stage at my family’s Christmas dinner.

Let’s talk turkey. I am a wholehearted convert to a locally raised bird. Not only is a smaller bird operation more sustainable, healthier and a great source of jobs on the rural landscape, those turkeys are delicious. (And I’m actually glad not to have my turkey injected with butter, thank you!) For Thanksgiving, my mom ordered a turkey from Wendy Banks, local food distributor in the Frontenac Arch region. If you would like to try a local bird, your neighbourhood butcher shop might have some unfrozen turkey for sale, as might specialty grocery stores.

When it comes to veggies for Christmas dinner, it’s hard to beat mashed potatoes made with local spuds. (No really, they’re hard to beat, but put some elbow grease into it and you’ll get there!) Here are a few of my favourite Homemakers holiday recipes made with home-grown foods.
- Here is Andrew Chase’s favourite turkey recipe. (Andrew is Homemakers’ food editor.)
- If you have a little time before the meal, go for Carrot Souffle with Parsley Sauce. It’s delish, so make sure you save a full serving for yourself!
- Yes, rutabaga can be mouthwatering. Try Maple-Glazed Rutabaga and Parsnips.
- You could have the usual stuffing. Or you could go all-out and have Bacon, Celery Root and Rye Bread stuffing!
- You could have pumpkin pie for dessert, or you could have Squash Custard with Ginger Caramel. Mmm!

Have a local wine with your Christmas dinner and you’ll have one a truly green Christmas!

What are your favourite holiday dishes?

Last weekend I took in the Picnic at the Brickworks, an annual event held by Evergreen and Slow Food Toronto. It’s hard to imagine an event nicer than this — dozens of local food producers each teamed up with a top chef to serve up delicious bite-size num nums, complemented nicely by a splash of local wine or beer. I was in local food heaven!

Another local dining opportunity is coming up: Localicious is a WWF event offered at restaurants in many Canadian cities. The participating restaurants will serve up dishes made with local food, and a portion of the proceeds will go to WWF Canada.

Aside from these kinds of delicious events, I just hope I can take in a few more farmers’ markets before they close for the year.

How are you enjoying local food this year?

While mixing up ingredients for Homemakers magazine’s Fresh Tomato Lasagna (mmm, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil, my favourite combination!) last week, I opened my drawer of too-rarely-used baking dishes and mixing bowls to pick a dish for the wet ingredients. If the recipe isn’t too large in volume, I pick my mom’s mom’s glass Pyrex mixing bowls (stamped “Made in Canada” on the bottom), bowls she used to make many many dishes, bowls with some light scoring from all the baking whipped to form within, bowls that are thick and heavy and hard to break.

Sure, I could get a set of matching plastic or ceramic bowls for a surprisingly small sum at any home store. They would be lovely. They would get used. They would chip, crack and eventually be tossed out. But grandma’s bowls stood up to everything she could dish out, so they’ll have no problem with my occasional baking whims. If anything, I’ll be hunting around antique shows (including the Odessa Antique Show, on west of Kingston this weekend) for a larger bowl to go with grandma’s set.

Do you have a favourite kitchen item, at home or at the cottage, that has stood the test of time?

As I noted in my earlier post about bottled water, it seems there is a link between education and deciding to consume bottled water. And as I’ve learned in reading health research for Homemakers magazine, a reuseable bottle isn’t a reuseable bottle. While the bottles that bottled water comes in are safe to drink from, they become less so over many refills, since it’s hard to clean the narrow-necked bottles thoroughly. And, of course, there’s the concern over the health effects of long-term exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) from some types of plastic food and drink containers.

Luckily there are lots of great reuseable water bottle options on the market. I really like stainless-steel bottles, since it’s a durable, food-safe material I can scrub away at and put in the dishwasher as well. I have an “Otterbottle”, which is from an Alberta-based company (although the bottles are manufactured in China), and I also have a larger SIGG bottle, made in Switzerland, which is aluminum, made with a can liner that’s BPA and phthalate free. I’ve even seen glass bottles shaped like plastic water bottles!

What’s your favourite way to tote refreshment on the go?

I’ve sunk my teeth into that most anticipated event of spring: that first bunch of sautéed local asparagus. It will be official when I buy it direct from a farmers’ market, but that first clutch of asparagus stalks I bought from the grocery store did have the authentic earthy taste of home-grown goodness. My partner and I ate about half of it sauteed with a bit of butter, then the next night I tossed sections of asparagus stalks, chunks of zuchinni,grape tomatoes and mushrooms in olive oil, then threaded them onto skewers and grilled them within a couple of minutes on my super-hot ceramic grill. Perfection!

For a terrific guide to selecting and preparing asparagus, as well as some to dine for asparagus recipes, check out this article on Homemakers.com by our food editor, Andrew Chase.  

What’s your most anticipated fresh local food?