The Long Road to Local

It seems we have reached a tipping point with local food in mainstream media.  Enough Canadians have demanded to know the source of their food such that many companies have started to claim "local" ingredients in their products.  This is very encouraging for the local food movement in that it means people are starting to care about where their food comes from.  Furthermore, it shows that the market has been willing to respond to these consumer demands.  However, even a passive viewing of some of these "local" claims suggests many are not all they are hyped up to be.

One of the most popular claims to "local" ingredients is simply to call them Canadian (Lays potatoes), which if you know your geography doesn't mean much.  Certainly, this gives some quality assurance, but removes any guarantee of environmental benefits.  Hellman's boasts their canola oil from the prairies, which run into the same problem (if you are from Toronto, your food might as well be sourced from Texas)

I am not one to be picky.  I think it's great that Canadian citizens and commerce are hopping on the local bandwagon.  I just think we need to be able to discern between a real change in operations and just a change in what we are being told.