Last weekend I went grocery shopping at the Superstore on Barrington
Street. When I’m shopping for produce, I always check where it was
grown and buy local when possible. I appalled to find that, at the peak
of harvest season in the Maritimes, it was impossible to find anything
local. Carrots, potatoes, apples, onions, blueberries, beans…all
things that are plentiful at this time of the year were “product of
USA” or from the west coast.
For a chain that presents itself as environmentally friendly with a
big push toward bagless stores, it puts no effort into reducing
greenhouse gas emissions by selling local produce in its stores.
—Alecia Grant, Halifax
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2009.
One of the reasons I have heard for this is that local stores need to meet the demand for a consistent and reliable supply of particular produce. Importing produce can ensure an uninterrupted supply whereas switching between local and imported produce can create problems with stocking a certain amount of food at a particular time. I don’t know how much truth is in that, but I’m just putting it out there as a possible explanation.