CBC is reporting that only 1% of the food produced in Canada is grown organically. This means that a majority of the organic food on the shelves of your local supermarket was not locally grown.

The Canadian Organic Growers Association is attempting to encourage more farmers to take on organic farming, but they are blaming the lack of demand and expense of doing so as limiting factors.

“We need to encourage local farmers to adopt organic methods,” Telford said, noting that farmers are unlikely to change their growing methods unless there is strong consumer demand.

The COGA says there were 3,618 certified organic growers in Canada in 2005, with another 241 farmers in the process of converting their conventional farms to organic. More than 530,000 hectares of land are dedicated to growing organic food, the largest crop being wheat.

As an alternative, visit your local farmers market and search out organic or at least “no spray” farm stands. Local food is more fresh, and doesn’t have to travel thousands of miles to get to your dinner table. Increased demand for local organic produce and meats will boost local farmers bottom lines and encourage others to take on a more environmentally friendly methods of farming. Also, money spent locally circulates longer in the economy, and provide higher community benefits.

Article Link: CBCNews

(the best organic, is homegrown organic, as in last spring’s pea harvest)