IRISH STEW

 Canada is a major producer, exporter and importer of an immense variety of agricultural and food products ranging from processed foods with global value chains to local, farm-based value chains. In this section, we share 3 of our research insights and assess to what extent our recipe can be made from Canadian agricultural and food products.

To begin, we learned that China is the top producer of potatoes worldwide. This is a recent phenomenon; potato production was highest in Europe and South America until the early 1990s, at which point potato production increased in China (FAO, 2008, Potato world). Because potatoes are such an important staple crop, it is somewhat alarming that production is so concentrated in one country. However, potato production in Canada is sufficiently high to allow for exports (FAO, 2008, North America).

Canada imports potatoes primarily from the United States (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2017). This perhaps explains why potatoes from the US are often readily available in Canada. Interestingly, the majority of Canadian potato exports are to the US (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2017). This illustrates a flow of potatoes between the US and Canada.

The lamb neck was purchased at Thatcher Farm’s stand at the Guelph Farmer’s Market. The farm has its own butcher shop, where the farm’s livestock are butchered and sold (Butcher Shop, n.d.). Even the crops that the animals eat are grown on the farm (Butcher Shop, n.d.). This reflects a commitment of Thatcher Farms to selling not only a high quality product, but also a connection between farm and fork. In this value chain, Thatcher Farms functions in farming, processing, and retail.

In summary, 6 of the 7 ingredients we needed are produced in Canada, while the other 1 can be purchased without difficulty