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The Food Issue
2016
Grains
West
28
reconnect people with agriculture—the
vital industry that produces the food we
eat every day.
THE SEASONAL ADVANTAGE
Seasonal produce can be healthier and
better tasting than produce grown out of
season. Picked at the peak of ripeness,
and usually grown near where it is
eventually sold, seasonal produce does
not need to travel far between farm and
fork—lowering the risk of spoilage and
ensuring it retains all of its fresh-picked
flavour. On the other hand, out-of-season
produce usually needs to be picked
before it ripens so that it can withstand
the long journey over land and sea from
producer to consumer. This early harvest,
combined with prolonged travel and
storage times, can impact the flavour of a
number of fruits and vegetables.
It’s not difficult to find examples of
fruits and vegetables that have different
characteristics depending on whether
or not they’re in season, as anyone who
has eaten the mealy, flavourless tomatoes
available during the winter can attest.
“Tomatoes are definitely one that has a
very short season, and a summer tomato
tastes different from a February tomato,”
said Vincci Tsui, a Calgary-based
registered dietitian and nutrition blogger.
“Also, berries are just super popular year-
round, when really they’re best in late
spring or summer when they come into
season.”
Fruits and vegetables grown and
harvested in season also tend to have
a smaller environmental footprint than
their year-round counterparts. When
something is grown out of season, the
inputs required to support that crop to
maturity—mainly water and energy, in
the form of fossil fuels or electricity—are
often much higher than normal. In this
respect, seasonal food can be more
efficient to produce. This also does not
account for the resources required to
transport non-seasonal produce around
the world from warm-weather growing
regions to wherever there is demand.
If the health and environmental
benefits aren’t enough, seasonal
produce has another advantage over out-
of-season items: cost. Because seasonal
produce is at the peak of its availability
and doesn’t usually have many additional
costs tacked on for transportation or
storage, it’s often cheaper than out-of-
season fruits and vegetables. Grocery
shoppers can take advantage of this
common-sense equation and reap the
rewards at the cash register.
“With the economy where it is, if you’re
eating seasonally, chances are you’re
purchasing foods that tend to be less
expensive,” Tsui said.
As food trends and environmental
catastrophes in important growing
regions drive up the costs of popular
produce items, seasonal fruits and
vegetables should be experiencing
a renaissance of sorts. However, the
majority of consumers don’t seem to be
interested in taking advantage of these
savings.
“We get uptight when costs go
up—cauliflower was the big story in the
FINDING FRESH:
For thrifty shoppers, buying inexpensive seasonal produce can be a
delicious and nutritious way to cut down on grocery bills. Photo: Calgary Farmers’ Market.