You have an ally in Hellmann's

Hellmann's mayonnaise, owned by food giant Unilever, has started a campaign in Canada called "eat real eat local." It encourages Canadians to ask for Canadian-grown food at grocery stores and be more conscious of where our food comes from. Thanks to Andrew Douglas, my old Country Guide colleague, for telling me about the campaign.

The "eat real eat local" website has a stat-filled video that makes it clear that consumers are concerned more with price than with Canadian-grown food. While food imports have gone up 160 per cent in the past 15 years, the Canadian population has gone up 15 per cent. Maybe the Hellmann's video will do something to change that view.

We import 53 per cent of our vegetables and 95 per cent of our fruit, the video says. These numbers could simply mean that countries are becoming more specialized in what they produce. We produce wheat, malting barley, canola and pork for export, as a few examples, and Mexico produces tomatoes and peppers, New Zealand produces lamb. We do somethings better and cheaper, and leave the rest to countries that can export apples to us cheaper than we can grow them ourselves. Seasonality is one factor, but not the only factor. The Safeway I shop at just got a new shipment of Pink Lady apples from New Zealand just when fresh new Canadian apples are coming off the trees.

And if every country did an "eat local" campaign, what we gain in local sales, we may lose in exports. Sure food might not travel as much, which one can argue is a good thing, but we will lose the ability to bring in fresh food for 12 months of the year and we won't have as much choice. Many fruits and veggies will become more expensive if we need hot houses to keep them Canadian AND provide enough supply. Are consumers willing to support farmers on this? We'll see. The Hellmann's campaign is a start.

Why Hellmann's

         That's the question I asked as I watched the video. Turns out they've got a section on the website with that very title. Click on "Why Hellmann's" and you find this explanation, which I lifted verbatim off the website:

We believe in real food.

And when it comes to Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise, that means local food. Canadian food.

Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise uses  Canadian eggs and canola oil from the prairies. And we’re working on new ways to make the ingredients of many Hellmann’s products as real and natural as possible.

Can a big brand be a leader of the real food movement? We think so.  We started with Urban Gardens two years ago, promoting the enjoyment of more real, fresh foods in Canada’s cities. We gave out gardening gloves, seeds, loads of tips and recipes, along with free  garden plots. Last year Hellmann’s worked with Evergreen and local community groups to create a network of community food gardens across Canada. We encouraged all Canadians to choose more real foods whether from the garden or the grocery shelf.

Eating local is good for both the people who eat it and the people who produce it. Our commitment to championing real food is only going to grow from here. We have to lead by example, and hope you’ll come on the journey to with us.