Why greenhouses have gone from blooming to booming in Ontario
But what makes Ontario such a greenhouse hotbed?
George Gilvesy, chair of the non-profit association Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, attributes some of his industry’s success to factors that benefit all of the province’s agriculture: fertile soil, easy access to water, and 120 million consumers within a day’s drive of southern Ontario’s farming heartland. But he also cites a trend away from processed and fattening foods.
“Produce is one of the lead things toward healthier eating,” Gilvesy says. “We’re producing some of the staples towards healthier eating choices with tomatoes, seedless cucumbers and peppers.”
Consumers’ growing tendency to eat on the go has helped too, he adds, since snacking vegetables such as cherry tomatoes and miniature cucumbers are among the main greenhouse crops.
Sylvain Charlebois, dean of Dalhousie University’s Rowe School of Business, says the locavore trend also works in greenhouses’ favour. Modern supply chains give Canadians access to grapes from South Africa and strawberries from Mexico in the dead of winter, but many consumers prefer produce grown nearby, he says — Ontarians especially.
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