Harrowsmith – June 2019

Harrowsmith Summer 2019 | 75

BOB LEGAULT

F

ood, water, shelter—as

far as we’ve come as the

human race, it seems the

very basics of day-to-day

living are still on shaky ground,

perhaps even more now than ever.

Climate swings are leaving some

homes in ashes, others drowned

out. Water is quickly becoming

recognized as not necessarily an

infinite resource. And food is itself

now loaded with questions: Where

does it come from? How was it made

or grown? How safe is it?

One of the biggest concerns is

source: According to the David

Suzuki Foundation, the average

meal travels 1,200 km (750 miles)

from farm to plate, emitting

massive amounts of greenhouse

gases along the way, not to mention

losing precious nutrients in its

journey to your home.

Most people will agree that

locally sourced food is better for

you and better for the environment.

Growing your own and choosing

local farm-fresh fare can help

mitigate matters, but what if you’re

living in the space-challenged city?

And what about Canada’s winters,

which make it prohibitive to grow

outdoors in much of the country for

much of the year?

Two Ontario producers are

betting everything they’ve got on a

new, urban, indoor vertical farming

model using aquaponic systems,

which offer a more sustainable,

accessible solution to traditional

agricultural farming.

The future of farming

Mississauga urban farm Aqua

Greens (aquagreens.ca) is one of the

companies offering a blueprint for the

future of farming and bringing fresh

fare to our biggest, busiest cities.

“Local is trumping organic;

people want a local product,”

says Pablo Alvarez, co-founder

of Aqua Greens, which provides

nutrient-rich, locally grown organic

greens and tilapia to grocery

stores and restaurants across

Toronto. “There’s no spraying;

it’s a controlled environment.

You’re supporting something

local, and the local economy. Plus,

anything grown locally will have

higher nutrients.”

“When you buy strawberries

from California, how long are they

in a truck? By the time they reach

the shelves, they’ve lost half their

nutritional value. A plant receives

20 percent of its nutrients in the

last days of its life, and yet they’re

picked before their full harvest,

then ripen on the way to the store,

which is why they don’t taste as

good,” explains Alvarez.

To grow its food, Aqua Greens

uses an aquaponic system, which

cultivates fish and plants together

FOOD & RECIPES: AQUAPONICS

Left: Urban farm Aqua Greens uses a stacked design that allows the Mississauga, Ontario, company to maximize square

footage. Above: At Back40growers in Burlington, Ontario, produce is grown vertically in towers, enabling the indoor grower

to produce much more than the traditional farm.