GrainsWest summer 2016

The Food Issue

2016

BY TYLER DIFLEY • ILLUSTRATION BY KIM SMITH

REDISCOVERING THE JOYSOF SEASONAL EATING

N TODAY’S SUPERMARKETS, THE CONTENTS

of the fresh produce section can transport you—and

your palate—around the world and through the

seasons. For Canadians in particular, it can be easy to take for

granted the fact that we have access to warm-weather fare like

tomatoes on the vine, avocados and blueberries even when it’s

-25°C outside and the ground is covered by two feet of snow.

However, it wasn’t always this way.

Prior to advances in food storage and transportation

technologies, and the interconnectedness of our global

economy, humans were slaves to the rhythms of the seasons

when it came to what types of food were available. In the warm

months of late spring, summer and early fall, people could enjoy a

variety of fruits and vegetables at the peak of their availability and

freshness. But when the cold of winter began to creep in, they

were forced to conserve their warm-weather bounty for several

months in any way they could, whether by canning, pickling

or otherwise preserving it, or by cellaring the hardier items—

potatoes, carrots and onions, for example—to prevent spoilage.

Although our modern food system has rewarded us with

more variety and choice than our ancestors could ever dream

of, its rise has coincided with some troubling changes in the

way people interact with and relate to their food.

“We’ve kind of become desensitized to where our food is

coming from and how it is grown,” said Leilani Olynik, marketing

and events co-ordinator for the Calgary Farmers’ Market.

“That kind of relationship with food is just gone because you

can go to the grocery store and buy really whatever you want

and whatever is on your recipe list. I think, in having that mass

quantity of variety available to people in the grocery store, it’s

also removed them from the farmer.”

The good news is that our relationship with food—and the

farmer—can be repaired to some degree by eating seasonally.

This simply means seeking out fruits and vegetables that are “in

season”—harvested at the end of their natural growth cycle.

While our ancestors ate seasonal produce because they had

no choice, making a conscious choice to eat seasonally has

economic, environmental and flavour-related benefits, and can

Photo: CalgaryFarmers’Market