Langara Voice Podcast Ep. 82 – Getting to the root of where our fresh produce comes from

By HAZEL LOVE and OKSANA SHTOHRYN

With trade tensions heating up between Canada and the U.S., Canadian shoppers are starting to rethink what ends up in their grocery carts. But just how dependent are we on imported produce, and could we realistically switch to buying only Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables?

In this episode of The Langara Voice Podcast, reporters Hazel Love and Oksana Shtohryn explore Canada’s food supply chain through the lens of Canada Food Flows, a new interactive tool developed at UBC that visualizes where 34 of our most popular fruits and veggies come from.

The online tool works like an adjustable global map that quickly shows trade flows between all provinces in Canada and their international trade partners.

According to the data sets, around 36 per cent of our fruit and 67 per cent of our vegetables come from the U.S., showing us just how reliant we are on our neighbours.

Dr. Navin Ramankutty, one of the tool’s creators, joins us to explain how it works and why understanding our food origins matters in an era of climate change and shifting trade policies.

We also hit the streets to speak with Langara students, including mom-of-two Karina Reid, who says the U.S. tariff war has made her rethink her buying habits.

We also visited Vancouver’s Riley Park Farmers Market to hear from Robert Lewis of Eden Fresh Farms about whether local farmers are ready to meet a surge in demand for Canadian-grown produce.