Green Calgary

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Reader Question

Hi Ashley,

Lately, I have been making a conscious effort to eat more locally. This is fairly easy in the summer months, especially because I have my own garden, but winter is definitely more challenging. Much of the local produce is produced in greenhouses and I’m wondering if this is a sustainable option. Is produce grown in a greenhouse actually better for the environment than shipping it from California and is it actually as healthy as food produced in soil? I need your advice.

Thanks,
Sara

Ashley's Answer

Dear Sara,

Author and farmer Wendell Berry once wrote, “If there is any truth to the cliché you are what we eat, then we should be honest about the fact that most of us do not have the slightest idea what we are”. What Berry was referring to is the fact that our food system has become so unbelievably complex that it is nearly impossible to know the origins of much of the foods we eat, or what their ingredients are actually derived from. This situation is deeply troubling but, encouragingly, it appears that a growing number of people are taking interest in knowing what they are eating, how it was grown, and what it means for their health and the health of the planet. I, too, share your enthusiasm, worry, and curiosity about food. In fact, I could not wait to dive into this question as I can recall, on several occasions, standing in the produce section mid-winter, deciding between the Rocky View hot house tomato and the field grown variety from Mexico. I let my gut guide my decision then but, hopefully, by the end of this short article, we’ll have more to base our decisions on than just a feeling. So let’s get started.

In Canada, the greenhouse industry represents the fastest growing sub-sector in horticulture. The Government of Alberta’s Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) reports that, in Alberta, roughly 400 greenhouse operators grow a variety of vegetables, bedding plants, cut flowers, ornamentals, foliage plants and seedlings. Nearly fifty per cent operate year-round, producing cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce, with a smaller percentage focusing on a variety of edible crops. It is this year-round production of crops that brings up the question of sustainability, as many of the greenhouses are heated with fossil fuels.

According to Government of Alberta, the majority of local greenhouses depend on natural gas to drive forced air furnaces, which provide the necessary heat for growing. Several producers have installed microturbines to generate electricity to convert to heat and one has installed a ground source heat pump (geothermal) to heat their greenhouses, but these alternative sources are greatly outnumbered by those heated by natural gas. These supplementary heating sources are important to consider, as it was the ever increasing dependence on fossil fuel that provided much of the momentum for the local food movement in the first place.

Today, we are faced with addressing an industrial food model that consumes 10 calories of fossil fuel energy for every 1 calorie of food it creates. This grossly imbalanced system must be rectified if we are to safely secure the future of our food supply. Fossil fuel use has only increased over time, so when considering the long term viability of greenhouses heated with a non-renewable resource, like natural gas, we must imagine what things will look like as fuel prices move ever higher. It is completely possible that higher gas prices will necessitate a shift to a more affordable and plentiful fuel source, like coal (only 3 per cent are using coal to provide heat at this time), which would no doubt increase the carbon footprint of the food produced. This would make locally produced greenhouse products less desirable – from an environmental standpoint – than those produced with natural gas or other alternatives. Cleaner technologies like biomass, cogeneration and geothermal have great potential but because these sources tend to have higher capital costs, the investment and development may be slower. One can only watch to see how this will play out.

Now, shifting our focus to the healthfulness of greenhouse produce, the government reports that while 90 per cent of producers use integrated pest management (IPM) systems, only 3 of the 400 growers use organic practices. As with all organic agriculture, the principles carry over to the greenhouse business, so you can feel good knowing the food you are purchasing is grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers. One certified organic grower that comes to mind is Hotchkiss Herbs & Produce, based in Rocky View Alberta. They produce incredibly tasty beans, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, eggplant, and peppers, all of which are grown in soil. Now you might be asking: “Grown in soil. Is that not a given?” Well, not exactly.

Although many growers raise their plants in soil, a growing number of greenhouses are using hydroponic techniques, whereby plants are suspended in “nutrient” enhanced water, replacing the need for soil altogether. Whether this can be called organic production has been hotly debated since the 1940s and some certifying bodies, including the Certified Organic Organization of British Columbia, have excluded soil-less practices from organic certification altogether. One of the hotly debated issues revolves around the fact that hydroponic production assumes that plants are merely the sum of individual nutrient parts, which, as Michael Pollan clearly demonstrates in his most recent book In Defense of Food, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Removing soil from the equation ignores the complex set of relationships found in soil, many of which we are only beginning to understand. Reductionism, as Pollan points out, has proven disastrous for both agriculture and nutrition science. This may, one day, prove true of hydroponics as well.

So, we are left here to decide what the best option is. When considering any food purchase I believe it is important to understand agriculture is not a single issue affair, and eating locally is about more than just reducing “food miles”. Conscious eating is about getting to know our food, how it is handled, and those who handle it. It’s gaining an appreciation for the seasons and understanding the food that comes to life in those seasons. It’s also about supporting our local economy and the businesses and people that serve it, because, as many people are finding out, the presence and diversity of small, local businesses not only helps to enrich the economy, but it also contributes to the health and vibrancy of community life. And, last but not least, it’s about supporting local farms and farmers – the very places and people giving life to the food we eat. Eating is at the heart of everything we do and I believe it demands more thought than what the sticker price tells us. We are what we eat and we are what we do. Get to know farmers and you’ll begin to know your food.

P.S. If you need some more food for thought, I highly recommend checking out Deconstructing Dinner – a weekly syndicated radio show that discusses current food issues. It’s produced at Kootenay Coop Radio out of Nelson, British Columbia and it airs on Calgary’s very own CJSW (90.9FM) on Tuesdays from 10 to 11am.

Gratefully,
Ashley

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