Columnists

What resource is endless? Well, none. But as long as we’re around, and the animals we like to eat are around, there will be endless, er, waste product. Number one and two. You get the idea.

Using tail-end waste is, of course, popular for fertilizing crops, and some have used it as a fuel source in the past. But cropping up across Canada are small-scale energy installations that harvest methane from animal waste and make it available as a potent energy source, reducing farmers’ energy costs and capable of supplying the local energy grid with electricity. Biodigesters can convert huge quantities of waste (including manure, but also restaurant and food processing waste) into biogas and liquid fertilizer.

Using biodigesters conserves grid energy, reduces odours and insect pests and reduces pressure on the environment (primarily through reducing methane emissions, one of the most harmful greenhouse gasses in terms of climate change). They also help protect water sources because pathogens have been largely digested, although depending on how the resulting manure is handled, agricultural runoff, with its excess nutrient, can still be an issue.

So how much power can a biogas plant generate? Some larger installations offer enough to power and heat the farm, then sell enough power into the grid to provide for over a hundred homes. According to this fact sheet, a small-scale (100 head) cattle farm could produce 1,227 kWh of electricity and 5.5 GJ of heating power per year and save the farmer over $10,000 per year.

A daydream of mine: I would love to see highway rest stops powered by on-site biodigesters. Think of it: all thousands of people a day are stopping for a bathroom break, and a cup of coffee and a muffin (preparing for the next bathroom break)!

For a rare opportunity to get a tour of how a biodigester works, check out Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ontario. Tours are on now through September 16.

What do you think, can we accept being powered by what we prefer to leave behind?

Looking at my grocery list the other day, I realize that I often buy the same things. Whether in my organic food delivery box, at the store or at the farmer’s market, I seem to like Boston lettuce, button mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, grape tomatoes and broccoli, maybe some fennel. I grill, stir-fry and roast these things, put them in salads, saute them for pastas, drop them in risotto. Don’t get me wrong, I love these tasty veggies. But I recently learned a fact that made it clear I’d be doing the planet a favour if I expanded my shopping list.

According to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Self-Sufficient Living, “Throughout history, nearly 10,000 different plants have provided food for humans. Today, only about 150 species are used anywhere in the world. More than 70 percent of our food comes from just 12 of these.”

Wow. I can see how not only eating locally, but trying new things would benefit local producers — and the environment. According to this paper from the University of California, “Properly managed, diversity can also buffer a farm in a biological sense. For example, in annual cropping systems, crop rotation can be used to suppress weeds, pathogens and insect pests.”

So the next time I’m at the farmer’s market (that should be tomorrow) I’ll pick something new, and let you know what it was and how I prepared it as part of a tasty meal.

In the meantime, here are a few delicious recipes from Homemakers that include veggies that, I’m betting, are outside of that top 12 list!

Grilled Quail. Yes, diversity counts in the butcher shop as well!

Beet and Jerusalem Artichoke Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing. Yes, Jerusalem Artichokes can be grown locally!

Braised Baby Bok Choy with Lemon and Lemon Grass This sounds so tasty, I’m looking forward to finding some fresh bok choy!

Cilantro and Mint Raita. This is a tasty dip, and feels cool on hot days.

Green Superstar Soup. This features kale, collard greens and spinach. Healthfully delicious!

What are your favourite unconventional summer foods, and how do you prepare them?

“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?

I’ve been receiving a delivery of organic food for a few months now, and I’ve been impressed with the local food available, particularly its intense flavour. Once in a while I pull back the box lid to find something I’ve never seen before.

A couple of weeks ago it was this crazy cauliflower, a fractal design in a harsh yellow green. Large and spiky, I was a little intimidated by it. What would I do with it? Too aggressive for a salad. Rather harsh for crudités. A couple of days went by while I thought about it, but this hardy cauliflower was in it for the long haul, and has survived long enough to get into stir fries, tossed into pasta and more. Because it doesn’t spoil easily and was fairly tasty, I’d order it again.

Yesterday  when I cracked open my veggie box (it’s from Front Door Organics) I stared back at the contents in total surprise. I’d ordered edamame – green soybeans. I usually buy edamame in the frozen veggie section of my grocery store, so I thought it’d be fun to get them fresh. And fresh they were, still attached to the stem! Now I’m glad I didnt’ have to stuff the rest of the plant into my green bin during the garbage strike, but as I sat there clipping off the soybeans into a container, I realized just how conveniently our food is served to us. Considering how much work goes into producing healthy food such as soybeans, it’s only fair that I would do the easy final preparations. And hey, not a plastic bag in sight.

What’s your favourite local food?