Produce grown closer to home could be part of the answer to N.L.'s lettuce shortage, says researcher
A lettuce shortage has forced some N.L. restaurants to pivot away from leafy greens
A shortage of lettuce in Newfoundland and Labrador is connected to problems on the other side of the continent — namely, drought and crop disease in California — but an agriculture and resource economist says solutions can be grown closer to home.
Catherine Keske, a professor at the University of California, said Friday she wasn't surprised to hear about the shortage of lettuce in Newfoundland and Labrador because of the province's reliance on importation.
"When one loses governance over one's food resources and is dependent on exports from all over the world, when there's a disruption to that part of the world, you're in a bit of a situation where you can't do anything about it," she said in an interview with CBC News.
Cost is the main reason why the province imports so much of its food supplies; climate is another, Keske said.
Keske book, Food Futures, focuses on food security and food sovereignty in Newfoundland and Labrador. A former faculty member at Memorial University's Grenfell Campus, she now lives in California — where she's experienced the drought first-hand.
"Water availability is an issue, and it's going to make things unpredictable. I think the most stable thing, really, would be for Newfoundland and Labrador to grow … that produce in its own province," she said.
Though Newfoundland and Labrador is reliant on its supply chain, Keske said there are ways for the province to take some control of its produce supply — such as indoor production.
Circumventing the weather
Farmers across the province are already exploring ways — like hydroponics — to produce food in Newfoundland and Labrador's often unforgiving climate.
Green Head Growers is a hydroponic farm on the Port au Port Peninsula, which produces mostly lettuce. Co-founder and co-operator Timothy Collier said the farm is producing 800 heads of lettuce a week and plans to expand to about 6,000 heads of lettuce in the next year.
"We have poor soil, poor climate in general, so by using the controlled environment agriculture and the technology of hydroponics, you can grow year-round," he said.
Collier said he'd like to see more people get into the agriculture industry, though he acknowledged starting out is a challenge. During its beginning stages about two years ago, Green Head Growers had difficulties finding supplies for its complex hydroponic system.
Dwight Budden is co-founder of Living Water Indoor Farm, a controlled environment indoor farm located in Stag Harbour on Fogo Island. Budden said he founded the farm with his father, Hayward, because he was concerned about food insecurity in the province.
"Food security is a real issue, it's been a real issue for a long time," he said.
He said he wasn't surprised to discover that there is a current shortage of imported lettuce.
"When we do manage to find produce, most of the year here in Newfoundland — especially here in one of the smaller areas and outport communities — the quality leaves something to be desired," he said.
The farm, which grows varieties of lettuce, herbs and other greens, started as a hobby but has grown into a full-time operation, Budden said. The produce is fresher, since it doesn't have to travel thousands of kilometres to reach store shelves.
Budden said he'd like to see more provincial government support for other small farmers who are just starting out.
"Supporting local farmers is a lot cheaper than supporting a health-care system when our people are forced to eat a lot of unfortunately poor-quality food, or what might be classed as junk food, because they don't have any options or because they can't afford the good stuff," he said.
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