Report says Nova Scotians spend one-third of grocery money on local food
Researcher says 50% local food consumption would be ideal, but could take decades to reach
Research commissioned by the province says Nova Scotians are spending about one-third of their grocery budgets on food that is produced locally.
Dalhousie University professor Sylvain Charlebois led the study with a goal of setting a baseline figure for local food consumption.
"Nobody really knew and nobody had any data. So … we had to develop a methodology to assess exactly how localized the Nova Scotian diet actually is," Charlebois said in an interview.
Charlebois and his fellow researchers surveyed over 500 Nova Scotians, asking how much of their food spending was local, excluding restaurant and takeout food.
The survey was done three times last year, in January, April and October, with results ranging from 27 per cent to 34 per cent.
The survey done in April was included in a research paper published in a peer-reviewed journal called Foods.
Consumers overestimate local consumption
In that paper, Charlebois notes that the findings "predominantly portray the consumer's perspective as opposed to reflecting actual consumption patterns."
In an interview, Charlebois said bias in consumer perspectives was a big challenge. He said not everyone defines local the same way, and people tend to overestimate how much local food they consume because of fallible memories and the social desirability of local products, Charlebois said.
He said he selected the most conservative estimate in his analysis of the data because of those factors.
Nova Scotia Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow said he was pleased with the results, which surpass a previous government goal of reaching 20 per cent local food consumption by 2030.
"We want Nova Scotians to choose local when they're buying their food. It benefits the economy, it benefits our agricultural community and benefits the environment as well," he said in an interview.
Morrow said he wants to encourage Nova Scotians to buy more locally, but he did not have a specific target.
"We're always looking at ways to extend seasons, enhance local food production. So I think it's just to continue the good work that we've done over the last two and a half years and to see how high we can get that number," he said.
Could take decades to reach ideal
Charlebois said it would be ideal for Nova Scotia to reach 50 per cent local food consumption. He said consumer demand is the main driver, and if people ask for more local products from retailers, the agriculture industry's capacity will grow to accommodate demand.
But he cautioned that change will not happen quickly.
"I think we have a long way to go before we get to a desirable place as a province. And when I say a long way to go, I mean decades."
Charlebois said he was keen on the province's idea of a loyalty program for local products, called Nova Scotia Loyal, which Tim Houston's government proposed during the 2021 election campaign. That program is still in development.
Farmers surprised by results
Like Charlebois, farmer Patricia Bishop said she does not think it will be quick or easy to change the food-buying habits of Nova Scotians.
Bishop, the co-owner of TapRoot Farms in Port Williams, N.S., said increasing local food consumption will take a shift in focus.
"Definitely we need to be thinking about it getting up to 70 or 80 per cent," she said in an interview with CBC's Maritime Noon. "But if things continue as they are right at this moment and as they have [been] in the last little while, then people are going to probably continue their spending patterns."
She was surprised by the results of the survey and said they do not align with the experience of many struggling local farmers. According to Statistics Canada, Nova Scotia farms overall have been in the red for at least the last five years, and the number of farms has been steadily declining.
Allan Melvin, a sixth-generation farmer and president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, was also surprised by the results, and said he expects actual consumption of local food is lower than consumer perception of it.
Still, he said it's positive the survey was done and the data could be useful for the industry.
"We'll start to be able to identify trend lines and work toward future targets," he said in an interview.
Not enough processing capacity
Melvin said Nova Scotia needs to increase processing capacity if it is to increase it's local food consumption.
"We're still very strong in the production of the raw ingredients, but we don't have a lot of that capacity even regionally within Atlantic Canada to take it to the next step."
Melvin said Nova Scotia needs more processing infrastructure, and government policy to promote investment.
Another measure of local food consumption Melvin said he'd like to see is in government institutions, such as schools and hospitals.
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