I get to meet all sorts of interesting people at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market. Every Saturday morning, I take my family shopping for local food. Suprima Farms sells unpasteurized, untreated, pure apple cider. It is extraordinary. Once you’ve tasted the pure sweetness, you’ll never settle for store juice with all its additives. Every week the blend is slightly different, due to the apple varieties that have been used. Richard Hennigar, the owner, will explain the subtle differences of the NovaMac, the Ida Red, Gravenstein, Russet, etc.
There are many other local farmers selling organic produce and meat. The “organic” brand doesn’t really matter to me. I figure I’ve ingested enough chemicals that it’s too late to make any difference. Also, I’d rather have a dash of N-Ethyl-perfluoro-octane-sulfonamide on my carrots, than a maggot.
There are, however, some interesting aspects to organic farming that have a direct impact on the pocketbook.
I learned that the difference between organic and “conventional” farming goes beyond the use of pesticides and herbicides. The types and varieties of food grown by the two camps are different. For example, some of the popular species of conventional apples are Red Delicious and Cortland. They grow big, red and shiny, just what the consumer likes. However, the farmer has to pump up the size of the apple by using large doses of nitrogen fertilizer. Every apple comes with a finite amount of flavour. In a bloated apple, the flavour is diluted throughout the fruit.
In an organic orchard, the apples are allowed to grow naturally, and will mature at a smaller size. But the amount of flavour will be the same, making it more concentrated. As a result, you can enjoy a greater quantity of flavour by consuming two or three small organic apples, rather than filling up on one insipid conventionally-grown apple.
Also, the species grown in conventional orchards would not survive in an organic environment. The conventional crops have become so specialized and dependent on pesticides, that they would be covered with blight if they were deprived of chemicals. In contrast, the organic varieties are hardier, and will stand up to insects and scab naturally. They are not as spotless, but they lack nothing in flavour.
Which brings me to my favourite rant: the rising price of oil. Many credible authorities predict that we are approaching, or have passed the point where we will have pumped more oil out of the ground than we ever have in history ... and ever will. It’s called Peak Oil. (see http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net). Past this point, demand will outstrip supply, and the price of oil will skyrocket.
This has serious implications for farming and food production. Farmers need fuel for tractors and farm equipment. Fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides are also made from petroleum. It could become very expensive to farm the “old-fashioned” way, with tons of chemicals. Conventional farmers will be forced to consider farming organically, for purely economic reasons. But... the thousands of acres of orchards, planted with species that can’t live without a petroleum fix, will become useless. The trees will have to be torn up, and new varieties planted. They will take a decade to mature and produce. Best to start now.
Transporting goods from outside the Maritimes will become prohibitively expensive. No more lettuce from California in January. Our local farmers will have a price advantage because they don’t have to ship as far. That is, if they survive. Buy local. Otherwise we will be at the mercy of Upper Canada and the U.S. For a colourful and insightful analysis of the impact of Peak Oil, check out James Kunstler (www.kunstler.com).
Another interesting fact I learned is that the type of carrots you get at Sobey’s and other chain stores, are optimized to withstand the rough handling of the mechanical harvester. The carrots are tough and woody. The best, tastiest varieties of carrots have a delicate texture, and must be picked by hand. They break apart when harvested by machine. Ergo you will only find them at a Farmer’s Market.
Local beef producers are hampered by the fact that there are no federally-inspected abattoirs in Nova Scotia. Only provincially-inspected ones. There is no difference really, both levels of inspection are equally competent and thorough. Except that Nova Scotia schools and hospitals are required by law to buy federally-inspected beef. There is only one federally-inspected abattoir in the Maritimes. It is located in Albany, PEI, and is on the verge of closing because the Nova Scotia government won’t contribute any more money to keep it afloat, because the plant is “not located in Nova Scotia”. This is could have bad consequences for Nova Scotia beef farmers, many of whom ship calves to PEI for growing and finishing.
You can get Suprima Farms cider at the Halifax Farmers’ Market (Keith’s Brewery bldg., Lower Water St.). Look for the “Fresh Air Foods Co-operative“ booth.
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.