Kim Parker, President and CEO of Food Security Structures Canada joins hosts Joe and Holly to talk about new technologies helping to mitigate food insecurity both here in Canada and around the world (both literally and figuratively).

Food Security Structures Canada, established six years ago, specializes in controlled environment agricultural structures that enable year-round food production regardless of location or climate challenges.

Kim describes their innovative agri-tunnels, which combine vertical farming with aeroponic and hydroponic systems. These systems can grow a wide variety of crops, from traditional leafy greens to more experimental crops like root vegetables, including radishes, carrots, and beets. The company's technology allows for growing in extreme conditions and has proven particularly resilient to climate change impacts.

The discussion also highlights Canada's significant dependence on imported fresh produce (60-80%), emphasizing the need for local food production solutions. Kim shares how their systems are price-competitive with traditional produce while offering fresher, longer-lasting products with zero waste. The company's commitment to accessibility extends to making their technology affordable and adaptable for various communities.

Kim's personal background, including her corporate sales experience and Indigenous heritage, influences the company's approach to community engagement and food security solutions. She emphasizes the importance of listening to communities' needs before implementing solutions, whether in Canada or internationally.

The conversation explores future developments, including partnerships with nuclear energy companies for power solutions and potential applications in space farming through collaborations with NASA. Throughout the interview, Kim maintains that their primary focus remains on Earth-based food security, driven by the mission to make fresh, nutritious food accessible to all.

Links mentioned

• FSSC Website: https://www.foodsecuritystructures.ca/
• FSSC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fssccanada/
• FSSC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FSSCCanada/
• FSSC on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/food-security-structures-canada/

For GrowAbility

Find our storyhub, instagram and other info at https://bio.site/growabilitypod

Episode Credits

GrowAbility is hosted by Joe Gansevles and Holly Pugsley.

Special thanks to this week's guest, Kim Parker.

Our show is produced by Adam Caplan, Joe Gansevles and Holly Pugsley.

Production support from Oliver Gansevles, Evan Gansevles, Scott Hohn, Kevin Labonte, Paul Rodgers, Doruntina Uka and Alan Williamson.

Holly Pugsley of Just Keep Growing art directed this episode and made sure the plants looked great.

Audience strategy by Doruntina Uka and Tess Alcock.

Our theme music is Wandering William by Adrienne Walther and can be found on Soundstripe.

Adam Caplan is web.isod.es Executive Producer and Sammy Orlowski is our Senior Creator.

Thanks to TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario, including Farida Abdelnabi and Sarah Edmondson for letting us shoot at their beautiful offices.

Special thanks to Leigh Ann Gansevles for the support and yummy food, Hubert Orlowski for helping our podcast sound great, and Gabor Sass for making some great introductions.

GrowAbility is a web.isod.es Production and is produced with the support and participation of the team at The PATCH and Hutton House.

Riddle me this, Holly Pugsley, what

2

happens when you combine a team of

3

engineering students, a desire for

4

serene tranquility and meditation, and

5

a medium bronze 2003 Dodge

6

Dakota SLT?

7

I have no idea, Joe.

8

A snoezelen!

9

Bless you!

10

No, we created this snoezelen at The

11

PATCH working with a team of Western

12

University engineering students as a way

13

to combine urban agriculture with a

14

mental health respite for some of our

15

participants.

16

Oh, that's cool. Like the hydroponics

17

room at our Innovation Center.

18

That's the one.

19

Okay, but what does that have to do with

20

the Dodge Dakota?

21

Oh, I just needed them to build it to

22

fit into that particular truck because

23

it's the only way I could make sure we

24

can move it to our offices.

25

Always thinking ahead, Joe.

26

From Webisodes, this is GrowAbility, a

27

digital documentary at the intersection

28

of urban agriculture, food security,

29

and community.

30

On this episode, we speak with Kim

31

Parker, President and CEO of Food

32

Security Structures Canada, which

33

provides the latest in ag-technology

34

that, as you'll soon learn, is literally

35

out of this world.

36

Yep. Food Security Structures Canada

37

provides technology and solutions for

38

organizations to grow high-quality,

39

fresh and nutritious produce in any

40

environment, regardless of the climate

41

or time of year.

42

And by any environment, we even mean

43

the cold, dark reaches of outer space.

44

And as someone who works with

45

hydroponics at both The Patch and my

46

company, Just Keep Growing, I know how

47

important Kim's company is for providing

48

not only food security, but also for

49

addressing climate change.

50

Yeah. Plus, Food Security Structures

51

Canada is also concerned with reducing

52

food waste, which all too often ends up

53

rotting in landfills.

54

Plus, as you've been hinting, I know

55

they're even working with other

56

organizations around growing food in

57

outer space, which I really hope she

58

talks about.

59

Me too.

60

But before we get our conversation with

61

Kim off the ground, if you like this

62

podcast, please rate and review us.

63

If YouTube is more your vibe, please

64

like and subscribe.

65

Plus, we're working on some amazing new

66

ideas and stories over at

67

GrowAbilityPod.com, including some

68

further information on this newsland and

69

blog posts from past guests of the

70

podcast.

71

Make sure to sign up for our free, fresh

72

and nutritious newsletter to get early

73

access to this exclusive new material

74

for your reading and viewing pleasure.

75

And we want to hear from you.

76

Send ideas, questions, or suggestions

77

for the sorts of people you want to hear

78

from on future episodes to hosts at

79

GrowAbilityPod.com.

80

And sadly, this is our final episode we

81

captured in the beautiful offices of

82

Tech Alliance of Southwestern Ontario.

83

Thank you so much for inviting us to

84

record this round of interviews in your

85

stunning space.

86

And speaking of space, let's

87

launch into our chat with Food Security

88

Structures Canada's Kim Parker.

89

Kim, thank you so much for joining us

90

today.

91

You're welcome.

92

For those who may be unfamiliar, what is

93

Food Security Structures Canada?

94

So Food Security Structures Canada is

95

a company we started about six years ago

96

that we do controlled environment

97

agricultural structures and

98

the growing systems inside of them, to

99

help empower local communities,

100

local individuals to grow food all

101

year long, regardless of their location

102

or climate challenges.

103

So are you a value-added reseller

104

of this tech or are you developing your

105

own technology?

106

Both, actually.

107

So we have some technology that we've

108

developed and then we look for

109

best-in-class in some of the other

110

areas. So our focus was that

111

if there was something existed that

112

was doing the job, it could do it very

113

well, why recreate the wheel?

114

But then there were certain areas within

115

the controlled environment agricultural

116

space that we were looking to innovate.

117

So we have a combination of the two

118

technologies.

119

The phrase food security is in your

120

company's name. Is this just a

121

catchphrase or is this a deeper meaning?

122

Yeah, it's the reason we exist.

123

And we put it right in our name and I've

124

had a lot of people say to me, it's a

125

long name, Food Security Structures

126

Canada. You should shorten it.

127

And I've kind of resisted

128

that suggestion simply

129

because every time we say the

130

name of the company, it reminds us why

131

we exist.

132

We exist to help individuals,

133

communities who are struggling with

134

food insecurity, you know, whether they

135

have access to fresh, nutritious food,

136

whether it's affordable, and

137

looking for ways that we can help them

138

with that to make sure that every

139

individual has access to

140

the fresh food that they want to have

141

within their life and to support their

142

family.

143

Is there any limit to the types of

144

produce that can be grown with

145

hydroponics? And what's your

146

favorite food we're currently

147

growing in your system?

148

Yeah, great question.

149

The system we have is a vertical

150

hybrid of aeroponic and

151

hydroponic.

152

So hydroponic, the plant's roots are

153

sitting in water all of the time, and

154

there's only so many plants that like

155

that.

156

There's a much bigger variety that

157

prefer the drip irrigation system that

158

we have that let the roots dry out

159

a bit in between each of the watering

160

cycles and nutrition they're getting.

161

So we're able to grow a wide

162

variety of crops.

163

We recommend a polyvarietal approach.

164

So rather than just having one type of

165

crop growing, grow all kinds of things.

166

And we really let the communities that

167

we work with, or the grower, really

168

dictate what is it that your local

169

community wants. And that's going to be

170

different from Canadian communities

171

to communities that we're working with

172

around the world, understanding what is

173

it that they want to eat.

174

So we're able to do everything

175

from, of course, the leafy greens and

176

herbs, which are the most common,

177

strawberries.

178

We've just finished some crops with

179

peas and beans.

180

And we've got some really great

181

experimental crops going right now.

182

We've got broccoli, cauliflower.

183

But what's really exciting, we're

184

just actually getting some of our first

185

harvest of root vegetables in

186

the vertical grow wall.

187

Wow.

188

We have grown bins that we've often done

189

roots, vegetables in, or plants that

190

need larger root space.

191

But we thought, why don't we try and

192

see there's some more varieties of root

193

vegetables that the mature plant,

194

that the mature fruit doesn't exceed the

195

size of the cup.

196

So we said, let's give it a try.

197

And so we've actually right

198

now have onions,

199

turnip, beets,

200

radishes, carrots growing

201

in the vertical grow wall.

202

And how does that like?

203

It's been absolutely wild.

204

It's been so amazing.

205

We just actually was really excited last

206

night, just got one of the harvest off

207

of the radishes.

208

I probably have 200 radishes in

209

my fridge right now.

210

Oh my gosh.

211

We planted about three different

212

varieties. We've got everything from

213

whites to reds to one that's almost

214

purple. It's amazing.

215

But what was really exciting about that

216

is that the flavor profile

217

on it is just excellent.

218

They've got that beautiful crunch

219

texture, the nice little bit of

220

heat.

221

Being able to go from seed

222

to harvest in six

223

weeks was the other

224

element of it that was exciting to say

225

that within six weeks of planting

226

a seed, you're getting your first

227

harvest off. And then we figure

228

based on the different germination and

229

sizing, all the rest of it, you're

230

probably three to four weeks, the wall

231

that we planted out with this, we'll get

232

harvest each week of

233

two to 300 radishes

234

per week.

235

Oh my gosh.

236

Over the next couple of weeks.

237

Our vertical grow wall has 720

238

plants per wall.

239

So it really can produce large

240

quantities of diverse crops, which

241

is what really will make a difference

242

when it comes to production and food

243

security within communities.

244

Wow. So I want to go back a little bit.

245

Okay.

246

Your background's in corporate sales?

247

It is. I have a very

248

diverse background.

249

I spent some time in the legal field,

250

did some time in the not-for-profit,

251

in performance-based, so

252

audience development- sales,

253

and then moved into broadcast,

254

working with radio and television in

255

advertising sales as well.

256

I was in that space for about 13

257

years as well, too. So a lot of sales

258

background, a lot of

259

understanding how to communicate

260

and share messages with people.

261

Prior to that, though, I come from a

262

small town.

263

We lived just off our family

264

farm. So I grew up with gardens.

265

I grew up growing our own food.

266

I look back on it.

267

My dad was putting himself through law

268

school.

269

You know, we had a young family and

270

we lived with my grandparents.

271

I look back on it now and I realize

272

we really didn't have a lot

273

of money.

274

Dad was working really hard to go

275

through law school and young family

276

and things. Money was not something we

277

had a lot of.

278

But I never noticed that

279

we didn't have a lot of stuff because we

280

always had good food on the table.

281

We lived on a farm.

282

We had the garden.

283

We always had beautiful meals on the

284

table. I look back.

285

If it hadn't been for that garden, I

286

think we would have been far more food

287

insecure than we were.

288

We had that abundance.

289

And I think that really

290

has played a factor in my

291

passion for this.

292

To understand that everybody should have

293

that comfort.

294

Everyone should have access to that

295

fresh food. How can you be

296

your fullest expression of yourself if

297

you're not fueling your body in

298

the way that you deserve?

299

And I think that's one of the reasons we

300

started this company.

301

It's the reason we exist.

302

Yeah, food is definitely a right, I

303

would say, and we all deserve it.

304

I believe it's a right.

305

I believe it's a right that every

306

individual has a right to fresh,

307

nutritious food.

308

We really get back to the hierarchy

309

of need that food, water,

310

shelter: these are the building

311

blocks. How can we as

312

a community and as a society address

313

the more pressing challenges,

314

the bigger picture, the creativity

315

that we are capable of

316

as humans, unless we're

317

dealing with those fundamental

318

needs.

319

And that's why we really look to

320

the communities that struggle in those

321

areas to say, how can we help?

322

We're not going in to fix people.

323

We're giving them the tools to

324

empower them to do

325

and to be in the direction that they

326

want to be in.

327

It is really powerful giving people the

328

ability to grow their own food.

329

Yeah, it's like not

330

playing God, but you're kind of giving

331

people their ability to help themselves

332

back and depend on themselves, which

333

is extremely valuable.

334

It's so empowering.

335

And we've seen it, especially when we've

336

had kids that we're working with, with

337

the plants and with the food and

338

watching them and the excitement when

339

that first little seed

340

germinates and there's this little baby

341

plant, you do feel like you've just

342

given birth and it's exciting.

343

I remember when we had

344

our first strawberries that

345

were just germinating and

346

the very first little one that came up,

347

I literally cried.

348

I was so excited about this because it

349

was part of something that we had worked

350

so hard to do and had

351

been excited about for so

352

long. And then seeing it actually happen

353

was exciting.

354

And our first strawberries, I think,

355

tasted more sweet than any strawberry

356

ever has tasted because

357

there was so much had gone into them.

358

So much love there.

359

Yeah, and the kids get so excited.

360

I know that there

361

have been a number of food literacy

362

programs that we've spoken with and

363

some of the feedback we've heard is that

364

a lot of kids currently

365

are really nervous about

366

eating foods that don't come in a

367

wrapper because so much of our

368

food comes in packaging.

369

So they're struggling with how do we

370

overcome that? How do we help them to

371

understand that that beautiful,

372

fresh carrot is okay.

373

It's not something to be nervous of.

374

And I think we have a role

375

that we can play in helping change that

376

dialog and to help kids to

377

get more comfortable with fresh,

378

nutritious foods.

379

Definitely.

380

It seems like a lot more like

381

conditioning that's been done almost

382

like so children are almost blinded

383

by, yeah, it looks more

384

normal when it's coming out of a box or

385

processed or packaged

386

plastic wrap.

387

It is really interesting.

388

It's good to get children more used to

389

it, especially with touching senses.

390

We're almost forgetting all that.

391

How incredibly rewarding

392

it is to see the color of a fruit for

393

the first time and see as you're saying

394

like seeing those first true leaves come

395

out of a plant. It's almost crying

396

worthy. Like it's a beautiful thing to

397

reconnect with, I think.

398

Yeah, it's beautiful.

399

And watching the kids respond to it.

400

Adults as well, though.

401

The adults that we've had volunteer

402

to come and help us out at the farm,

403

it's like, I just want to be with the

404

plants.

405

It's a beautiful space to work

406

in.

407

I think it's beyond

408

just the production of the food.

409

It's good for the soul.

410

Our farmers say the same thing that they

411

have friends and family that

412

volunteer to come down and help on

413

planting days or harvest days,

414

especially in the wintertime because

415

both working with the plants, the

416

beautiful lighting that is our

417

proprietary lights that are just a

418

lovely daylight spectrum.

419

It's just a great place to work.

420

You throw a little music on in January

421

and there is no happier place to be

422

than in one of our growing spaces.

423

And what's really cool to me is that

424

you're reconnecting people with

425

growing through innovation.

426

A lot of people unfortunately have lost

427

that connection with agriculture,

428

with farm life.

429

You're providing them that experience

430

in a very natural way, but through

431

innovation.

432

We've had really good reception from

433

the existing farming community because

434

our agri-tunnel is able

435

to be deployed in about a thousand

436

square foot space.

437

Most farms have that

438

existing space on their land someplace,

439

giving them 52 weeks of the year

440

opportunity not being at

441

the mercy of the climate.

442

The farmers that often are out there

443

looking too much rain, not enough rain,

444

too much sun, not enough sun.

445

That's all out of the equation.

446

And the other element that we think has

447

been a really interesting perspective

448

is that there are folks that

449

would like to stay within the farming.

450

There's succession planning that's

451

happening within farms, but the younger

452

generation is looking for ways to

453

combine technology, farm smarter.

454

They maybe don't want to be outside in

455

that 35 to 37

456

degree temperature baling hay, but

457

the idea of using technology in

458

a controlled atmosphere like that,

459

especially when we add some of the more

460

advanced technology opportunities into

461

the unit, that really

462

appeals to them.

463

So we see that there's been a lot of

464

interest from that young farmer, but

465

the established mature farmer

466

is also interested because they've lived

467

through the challenges of climate change

468

and they're looking for something that's

469

more climate resilient.

470

So we're really excited about the

471

interest that's been expressed from the

472

farming community.

473

And I think that's going to be an

474

interesting area. Again, our focus

475

is local farmers feeding local

476

communities.

477

So let's dig into that.

478

Okay.

479

How does this work, no soil?

480

Okay. So we start

481

out at the beginning, which is our

482

agri-tunnel. So when we started this

483

company, one of the things we looked at

484

is that there were

485

movable, if I use that word,

486

controlled environment agricultural

487

units being deployed.

488

Some of them were shipping containers.

489

Those are not purpose-built units.

490

They're metal boxes.

491

And what we were seeing is that there

492

were challenges that were being faced

493

that these units aren't insulated to

494

the level or don't have the

495

elements that are needed to handle the

496

tough climates. In Canada and around the

world, climate

497

change is happening.

498

So we're seeing extreme heat, extreme

499

cold.

500

And so we look to say, you've got to

501

start with the building.

502

The building itself has got to be able

503

to handle what Mother Nature throws at

504

it. So our unit is

505

a fiber reinforced polymer unit.

506

So think really thick fiberglass.

507

It's modular. So it goes together kind

508

of like Lego.

509

And then it is insulated

510

and waterproof sealed.

511

The unit can be built on a

512

concrete pad, can even be ground

513

covered.

514

But we also have a unit that is built

515

onto trailers.

516

So like a double-wide mobile home.

517

And it's brought in on two pieces,

518

connected up, and away you go.

519

What was important to us with that is to

520

make sure that it was insulated to the

521

level that could handle wherever you

522

deploy it.

523

So in southwestern Ontario,

524

probably the bottom half of Canada,

525

we're about 40, R40 insulation value.

526

If we're going farther north, we're

527

increasing the insulation.

528

If we're going to a community anywhere

529

else in the world, we're reaching out

530

to the local building codes and

531

finding out what is the right insulation

532

material and the right insulation level

533

to be able to address the needs of that

534

community. And what's great about the

535

unit is regardless how much insulation

536

you put on the unit, you're not losing

537

growing space.

538

And that's often in the challenge when

539

you're repurposing something else.

540

You're having to build on the inside and

541

you lose growing space.

542

So once we created that climate

543

resilient building, then we

544

started putting the vertical aeroponic

545

grow walls inside of it, maximizing

546

the yield. We're actually in each of the

547

cups in the wall using coca coir,

548

which is a biodegradable

549

substance. We're using peat cups,

550

which again are biodegradable, so

551

everything that we're using, all of our

552

bio waste inside of the agri-tunnel,

553

is going into an anaerobic biodigester.

554

So we're turning that back into

555

liquid nutrient and

556

CO2 production in the

557

agri-tunnel to be able to feed the

558

plants the CO2 that they want.

559

So we're trying to ensure that we're

560

thinking about each one of the systems

561

in the unit so that it can be as

562

efficient as possible.

563

The energy footprint of these

564

units has been what's really been

565

exciting.

566

We knew from our calculations based

567

on the modeling as to

568

what the energy efficiency would be in

569

the units.

570

But our pilot project with

571

Western University, we've been proving

572

out all of that energy modeling and

573

there's been a number of white papers

574

that they have published sharing the

575

energy modeling with the unit and it

576

actually exceeded what we were

577

expecting. It beat our pre-calculations

578

because of some other elements that were

579

happening in the unit, but it's been

580

really great to see that how energy

581

efficient the unit is and that all

582

of the technology we're using is

583

focused on bringing the energy

584

consumption as low as possible.

585

We bring it down as little

586

energy as possible because

587

the next piece of the equation is so

588

where are we getting the energy?

589

And we've partnered with the

590

production of agrivoltaics.

591

So agrivoltaics is the partnering

592

of solar panels with

593

agriculture. So we often hear

594

people say, oh, we don't want to put

595

solar panels on good agricultural land.

596

Absolutely, totally agree, unless

597

you farm that land as well.

598

So make it instead of an either or

599

do both.

600

So with the agrivoltaics,

601

we're able to capture the power of the

602

sun to power the agri-tunnel,

603

but we're still farming underneath it.

604

So we've been doing research with

605

strawberries growing underneath the

606

solar panels and we were noticing

607

almost double the yields.

608

And so the size, the speed of plant,

609

everything about the plant was

610

bigger and better.

611

There's been great success with

612

what's called solar grazing,

613

which is placing animals under the

614

solar panels. They love the shade.

615

The grass grows better.

616

The droppings from the animals are

617

fertilizing the soil and regenerating

618

the soil. Sheep is the one that's

619

had the greatest success, but you can

620

also do chickens,

621

pigs.

622

Cattle, yes, but the solar

623

racking has to be designed to be able to

624

handle the rub on the solar racking.

625

So you've got to make sure you're putting

626

something in there that can handle cows

627

rubbing out at a little bit.

628

Goats is a hard pass.

629

Goats will eat anything, so they'll eat

630

the wiring generally.

631

No solar grazing.

632

No solar grazing for the goats.

633

They just eat the solar panels and the

634

wiring. But when you look at

635

that opportunity to say, layering,

636

to be able to do animals and plants and

637

solar and the agri-tunnel and put it all

638

together in an energy efficient way,

639

it helps to take out that

640

variable in some communities to say,

641

can we grow locally?

642

And we've got heat challenges,

643

droughts, all kinds of different things

644

that we're dealing with.

645

And when you stop and think about the

646

challenges ahead of time and how can

647

we address them? That's what we look to

648

do is to have all the tools in our

649

toolbox to address whatever

650

challenge you may have in

651

your location.

652

We've got a couple of communities we're

653

dealing with right now.

654

That's one of the first questions when

655

we're dealing with location.

656

Tell me about where you are.

657

What's happening? So what are the

658

challenges? What are the opportunities?

659

What are we wanting to grow all these

660

things? When you look at challenges, I

661

had somebody the other day, I'm like,

662

man, you just really are throwing it at

663

us. They have straight line wind speed

664

from hurricanes, flooding,

665

hurricanes.

666

Then there's loss of infrastructure

667

after hurricane as well.

668

So it can be up to three months before

669

they get their power back.

670

And then they had the conversation,

671

they're saying, oh, and by the way, we

672

get earthquakes.

673

Like, sure.

- And locusts?

674

Okay, let's just say, what else

675

can we throw it up? Like, okay, let's

676

just start throwing things on here.

677

What's exciting is that a lot of these

678

things we've already addressed,

679

the structure is able to handle most

680

of these things.

681

No structure is 100%

682

earthquake or hurricane

683

resilient.

684

But we're getting to the point where

685

they can handle pretty much anything

686

that is thrown at it.

687

They're very resilient.

688

And then when we look at some of these

689

unique challenges, we know who

690

to reach out to. There are experts all

691

over the world already dealing with

692

these things. And we look at

693

ourselves almost a bit like a

694

quarterback when it comes to those

695

things. We're pulling teams together.

696

And I think

697

for me, that's been one of the most

698

exciting things that we're looking at

699

doing these days, is really

700

digging into some of the big challenges

701

that communities are facing around the

702

world.

703

So, I see it as a grand scale,

704

which is wonderful, because it's what we

705

need. But is there implementation to the

706

scale? So with somebody wanting to

707

go in on- like, to start,

708

can they build up what they're doing?

709

Yeah, great question.

710

I get that a lot because people ask

711

about the different levels of, and

712

again, they always talk about the money.

713

It's like, how much does it cost

714

to get involved?

715

Our company is really focused on the

716

commercial level.

717

So however, the technology we have

718

goes right back to a home-based unit.

719

So I like to tell people that we have

720

everything from a home-based unit

721

to a large commercial

722

production facility.

723

We could probably do something from

724

a couple of thousand dollars to a couple

725

million dollars.

726

Where do you need to be in that

727

space?

728

And again, that's part of that

729

initial conversation that we have with a

730

potential client to say, tell me about

731

what your goals are.

732

We've got lots of solutions.

733

I like to say, I have a great big

734

toolbox with all kinds of different

735

tools in it.

736

Tell me about you.

737

Tell me about what you're looking to do.

738

We haven't focused on the home-based

739

units as much, and it's simply been our

740

corporate decision because we are

741

looking for the biggest impact in

742

communities.

743

And while the companies

744

that we work with that supply the

745

technology absolutely have home-based

746

units available, and we can absolutely

747

make them available for somebody if

748

they're interested.

749

For us, the idea of supporting a

750

commercial farmer and helping them

751

be successful and feed larger numbers

752

of people, when we look at

753

bandwidth, that's where our focus has

754

been. Another thing that I think has

755

really helped us

756

decide on that direction was

757

we all saw during COVID how many people

758

planted gardens in their backyards,

759

right? And some of them continued

760

on, which is wonderful.

761

Not everybody is meant to be a farmer,

762

and that's okay.

763

It's also looking

764

at not everybody has the space, not

765

everybody has the time.

766

And we like to

767

think if you're not a farmer, that's

768

okay, support a farmer.

769

So that's why we kind

770

of focus on the farmers at this time

771

and are really looking at that

772

commercial scale.

773

Scalability really is dependent on the

774

area that you're and the size of the

775

population that you're looking to

776

support.

777

We always try to encourage people to

778

look geographically from a carbon

779

footprint standpoint.

780

You don't want to be trucking things,

781

you know, a thousand kilometers away.

782

So what is your immediate area?

783

Where is the reasonable area for

784

you to be supporting with your food

785

production?

786

And so again, for us, one of the

787

biggest guiding principles as we're

788

going through everything that we do is

789

location, location, location.

790

It really does govern everything

791

about your operation from your access

792

to labor, your

793

operating costs, your consumer

794

base, electrical costs,

795

your water. That's a massive issue as

796

well that, you know, we don't think of

797

it in some areas because we have such

798

convenient, easy access to water,

799

but around the world, that's not always

800

the situation.

801

So understanding the access to

802

water is very important.

803

So yeah, but we get back to location,

804

location, location.

805

That's it.

806

And speaking of that, so when we look at

807

local food, we're talking about healthy,

808

nutritious food.

809

And you're talking about local

810

food, using a different

811

method, an innovative method.

812

Do the units, is there an impact

813

to the healthiness or the nutritiousness

814

of the food that you grow?

815

I would say there is.

816

The research that we've done that

817

while we, there's always that

818

conversation about, you know, the

819

nutrients that are being fed to the

820

plants because in our growing

821

system, we are adding nutrients.

822

So we're feeding the plants as well too.

823

It allows us to really control

824

and monitor with the plants that they're

825

getting everything that they need to be

826

happy and healthy.

827

Now, there's always the conversation

828

about outdoor and different

829

growing methods outside and

830

balancing that off.

831

I think that is a very complex

832

conversation because there are so many

833

factors involved.

834

So to say, are the

835

plants that are grown in the agri-tunnel

836

more nutritionally

837

balanced and healthier than

838

something that has been on the back of a

839

truck for 10 days, grown in

840

a field that maybe is adjacent

841

to a farm that's spreading

842

manure on their fields.

843

And there's been so many recalls

844

recently of romaine lettuce.

845

That is, you know, and I was just

846

actually speaking recently at a

847

conference about this and understanding

848

why is that happening.

849

And the

850

interesting thing about this is that

851

90% of romaine lettuce

852

is grown in two areas, one in

853

California, one in Arizona.

854

And it's exported around

855

the world.

856

Everybody's receiving this from

857

California and Arizona.

858

The interesting thing about these farms

859

is they are right adjacent to some

860

massive feeder lot

861

cattle farms.

862

So what's happening is the

863

water is getting contaminated with the

864

feces. It's being spread both

865

through the water table itself as

866

well as sprayed on the plants

867

during the watering process.

868

Romaine in particular has a very crinkly

869

leaf.

870

So that bacteria is actually attached

871

into the plant in a way that it's

872

difficult, if not impossible, to wash

873

it off or cook it off.

874

And then it's being shipped all over the

875

world. And of course, then you've got E.

876

coli outbreaks.

877

And that's a challenge that

878

when we look at it to say, what

879

are the nutritional benefits and which

880

ones got higher nutrition, I go

881

back to say, which one's healthier.

882

And I think when you look at

883

what we're able to do with no

884

herbicides, no pesticides,

885

no air pollution, no overspray

886

from neighboring crops,

887

and that we're controlling the nutrition

888

that's being provided to the plants to

889

help optimize their growth, in my

890

mind, it's a much healthier product that

891

we can get into the hands of consumers

892

about the same price

893

because we're taking out all the

894

shipping costs. So your local

895

farmer is making more

896

money on the crop because they're not

897

having to knock their price down so low

898

to compensate for

899

the shipping costs and

900

the distribution, which is very

901

expensive as the cost of gas continues

902

to rise.

903

This may be an obvious question but for

904

viewers that may not know a lot about

905

this, why is it so important

906

for us to be growing here in Canada?

907

Yeah, it's a really great question and

908

very timely because every year

909

there's a Canadian food price report

910

that comes out.

911

This year's the 2025 came out

912

recently.

913

They're projecting between 3% and 5%

914

increase again in our

915

food bills.

916

Fresh produce is expected to go up

917

4% to 6%.

918

Wow.

919

The reason for that is Canada imports

920

between 60% and 80% of its

921

fresh vegetables.

922

So that's a lot of

923

reliance on imports.

924

And as we saw during COVID that

925

whenever that infrastructure,

926

the distribution chain, whenever

927

that is broken, we are

928

vulnerable.

929

So our reliance on those imports, we've

930

got to start working on

931

that to reduce that reliance

932

on someone else's

933

produce.

934

That's not going to be easy to do

935

necessarily here in some areas in Canada

936

because, climate.

937

You know, we've got snow half of

938

the year in some areas, sometimes longer

939

in some other areas.

940

Understanding too some areas are getting

941

hit in the summertime with massive

942

heat issues, which can

943

be very tough on some of the more

944

delicate crops.

945

So we have to get smarter.

946

How do we bring some

947

of those crops home, like the

948

strawberries that we've been working on

949

through the Homegrown Innovation

950

Challenge, or 85%

951

of Canada's strawberries are imported.

952

Wow.

953

That shocked me when I heard that.

954

Absolutely.

955

Yeah, it shocks me too.

956

We're all used to seeing strawberry

957

farms around the areas where we are.

958

But when you look at

959

the seasonality of it, it makes sense.

960

So if we can even just take a chunk of

961

that out of the equation and produce

962

more strawberries locally all year

963

round by using controlled environment

964

agriculture, that will be,

965

you know, that will make a big change

966

in that import.

967

I love your approach of just finding out

968

what everyone kind of needs in the area

969

and then going for that as well.

970

I also agree strawberries are just like,

971

everybody's just dying for them, I think

972

all year round.

973

And that's like one of the, yeah, one of

974

the main things I think every Canadian

975

is buying constantly.

976

So I think, yeah, that target is

977

incredible. Yeah.

978

I think that the other element

979

with the strawberries and one of the

980

reason the Homegrown Innovation

981

Challenge grant started was

982

it's also a very delicate crop.

983

It doesn't ship particularly well.

984

They also know that at the grocery

985

stores, the consumer is not having

986

necessarily a great experience with some

987

of that imported produce because I don't

988

know about you, but there's been times

989

I've bought those, you know, clamshells

990

of berries and they go moldy within two

991

days.

992

Oh, yeah.

993

Right? So we can do better.

994

Yes.

995

Yeah.

996

We have the technology.

997

Why not? So that's what we're working on

998

specifically.

999

But I think, you know, that also

00:32:09,125 --> 00:32:11,375

extends to other crops to go

00:32:11,375 --> 00:32:13,416

back to the community

00:32:13,416 --> 00:32:15,708

and to understand their need.

00:32:15,708 --> 00:32:17,875

We're focused extensively right now

00:32:17,875 --> 00:32:19,958

on can we grow it?

00:32:19,958 --> 00:32:22,000

So we're trying all kinds of crazy

00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:23,000

experiments.

00:32:23,666 --> 00:32:24,666

You know, I was talking about the root

00:32:24,666 --> 00:32:26,125

vegetables, but we're also doing things

00:32:26,125 --> 00:32:28,458

like peas and beans, quinoa,

00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,958

amaranth. You know, we're just trying

00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,208

everything to say, can we grow it?

00:32:34,208 --> 00:32:36,083

The other half of the equation, though,

00:32:36,083 --> 00:32:38,083

is should we grow it?

00:32:38,083 --> 00:32:40,375

That to grow potatoes

00:32:40,375 --> 00:32:42,916

in southwestern Ontario

00:32:42,916 --> 00:32:45,125

is not necessarily the best

00:32:45,125 --> 00:32:46,791

crop to grow from a profitability

00:32:46,791 --> 00:32:48,500

standpoint because they're readily

00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:50,625

available, they're inexpensive and they

00:32:50,625 --> 00:32:52,750

store well. So not maybe

00:32:52,750 --> 00:32:54,375

the crop that I'm going to choose if I'm

00:32:54,375 --> 00:32:55,958

looking to be profitable with my unit.

00:32:55,958 --> 00:32:58,250

If I'm in the far north,

00:32:58,250 --> 00:33:00,375

we had looked at some research

00:33:00,375 --> 00:33:01,833

from some of the northern stores in

00:33:01,833 --> 00:33:04,250

northern Canada and five

00:33:04,250 --> 00:33:06,375

potatoes was $25.

00:33:06,375 --> 00:33:07,500

Oh, my gosh.

00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:07,583

Wow.

00:33:07,583 --> 00:33:10,041

That's a game changer to say there

00:33:10,041 --> 00:33:12,083

is a crop that

00:33:12,083 --> 00:33:13,833

if we can address that because it

00:33:13,833 --> 00:33:15,958

doesn't ship in well, it's expensive to

00:33:15,958 --> 00:33:17,000

fly them in.

00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,666

If we can look at ways to be able to

00:33:18,666 --> 00:33:20,791

produce that locally, that makes

00:33:20,791 --> 00:33:22,875

a difference for that community.

00:33:22,875 --> 00:33:24,625

So again, it really comes down to that,

00:33:24,625 --> 00:33:26,333

can we and should we?

00:33:26,333 --> 00:33:27,875

Each community is different.

00:33:27,875 --> 00:33:29,708

So to ask them what they would like to

00:33:29,708 --> 00:33:31,791

have and then how does

00:33:31,791 --> 00:33:34,041

that look within their community needs

00:33:34,041 --> 00:33:36,583

and profitability for the farmer.

00:33:36,583 --> 00:33:38,625

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1

00:33:38,625 --> 00:33:40,250

being we should probably pay attention

00:33:40,250 --> 00:33:43,125

and 10 being it's a full-blown crisis,

00:33:43,125 --> 00:33:45,041

how big of an issue is food security in

00:33:45,041 --> 00:33:46,208

North America, do you think?

00:33:47,416 --> 00:33:49,458

Wow, that is

00:33:49,458 --> 00:33:51,791

a very big question

00:33:51,791 --> 00:33:53,708

because you're asking someone who would

00:33:53,708 --> 00:33:54,708

say 10.

00:33:56,500 --> 00:33:58,875

I don't like to be

00:33:58,875 --> 00:34:01,000

a doomsdayer.

00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,125

My husband is an emergency manager, so

00:34:03,125 --> 00:34:05,250

we work in this space a lot.

00:34:05,250 --> 00:34:07,500

I also am on the board of a number

00:34:07,500 --> 00:34:09,791

of food banks and meal programs

00:34:09,791 --> 00:34:12,916

and very involved with food insecurity.

00:34:12,916 --> 00:34:15,333

So I'm very aware of

00:34:15,333 --> 00:34:17,291

some of the folks that are in the most

00:34:17,291 --> 00:34:18,291

insecure positions.

00:34:18,291 --> 00:34:20,916

So for me, it's something I'm

00:34:20,916 --> 00:34:22,666

constantly aware of every single day.

00:34:24,875 --> 00:34:26,958

Understanding that I think the

00:34:26,958 --> 00:34:28,458

average person would say that we're

00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:31,083

maybe at a 6 or a 7.

00:34:31,083 --> 00:34:33,000

My personal belief is it's much higher

00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:34,458

than that.

00:34:34,458 --> 00:34:36,500

The reason I also look at that is

00:34:36,500 --> 00:34:38,416

that I see the climate change impacts

00:34:38,416 --> 00:34:39,416

that are coming.

00:34:40,041 --> 00:34:42,500

There are many communities that, yes,

00:34:42,500 --> 00:34:44,333

maybe they're down around a 6 or a 7.

00:34:44,333 --> 00:34:45,333

They're somewhat comfortable.

00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:47,375

They get a little bit uncomfortable

00:34:47,375 --> 00:34:49,791

with the prices at the grocery store,

00:34:49,791 --> 00:34:52,041

but they're still able to access that

00:34:52,041 --> 00:34:54,125

food. They're still able to, while it's

00:34:54,125 --> 00:34:55,458

taking a bigger chunk out of their

00:34:55,458 --> 00:34:56,583

budget, which hurts,

00:34:57,625 --> 00:34:59,875

they're still able to make food choices.

00:34:59,875 --> 00:35:01,333

There are countries around the world

00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:02,833

where you can go to the grocery store.

00:35:02,833 --> 00:35:04,333

It doesn't matter if you have, you know,

00:35:04,333 --> 00:35:05,666

hundreds of dollars in your pocket.

00:35:05,666 --> 00:35:06,791

The food is not there.

00:35:08,250 --> 00:35:09,250

That's concerning.

00:35:10,208 --> 00:35:12,041

And understanding that is going to get

00:35:12,041 --> 00:35:13,375

worse.

00:35:13,375 --> 00:35:15,375

The projections in some of the areas of

00:35:15,375 --> 00:35:17,208

the world, the MENA district, Middle

00:35:17,208 --> 00:35:19,250

East, Northern Africa, the

00:35:19,250 --> 00:35:20,500

temperature changes that are coming

00:35:20,500 --> 00:35:22,750

because of climate change are projecting

00:35:22,750 --> 00:35:25,291

massive crop failures, massive

00:35:25,291 --> 00:35:27,166

crop failures.

00:35:27,166 --> 00:35:29,416

And understanding that that is,

00:35:29,416 --> 00:35:31,416

has that potential impact

00:35:31,416 --> 00:35:33,583

around the world, we have to be aware

00:35:33,583 --> 00:35:35,000

of it.

00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,666

As I say, here in Canada,

00:35:37,666 --> 00:35:39,458

often many communities are

00:35:39,458 --> 00:35:41,875

uncomfortable, but not in pain yet.

00:35:41,875 --> 00:35:44,000

We have to be aware that that is

00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:45,041

a place of privilege.

00:35:45,041 --> 00:35:47,958

It is not the reality around the world.

00:35:47,958 --> 00:35:49,958

And I think what's really exciting,

00:35:49,958 --> 00:35:52,041

there was a fantastic report that

00:35:52,041 --> 00:35:54,416

came out of Arrell Food Institute

00:35:54,416 --> 00:35:56,958

back in September of 24,

00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,000

that really looked at Canada's

00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,375

role in food security

00:36:01,375 --> 00:36:03,541

and food production around the world.

00:36:03,541 --> 00:36:05,708

And it was very exciting using, the

00:36:05,708 --> 00:36:07,458

report was on Canadian technology

00:36:07,458 --> 00:36:09,125

feeding the world.

00:36:09,125 --> 00:36:11,458

What I loved about this report is

00:36:11,458 --> 00:36:13,625

that there were really actionable

00:36:13,625 --> 00:36:15,875

items in it that spoke

00:36:15,875 --> 00:36:17,958

to what Canada can do

00:36:17,958 --> 00:36:20,041

in the way of technology development

00:36:20,041 --> 00:36:22,083

and what different sectors here

00:36:22,083 --> 00:36:24,125

in Canada, what their role was in being

00:36:24,125 --> 00:36:25,583

able to bring this forward.

00:36:25,583 --> 00:36:28,000

So there were calls to action for

00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,208

academia, there were calls to action

00:36:30,208 --> 00:36:32,583

for industry, for business leaders,

00:36:32,583 --> 00:36:34,958

for financers, for the government.

00:36:34,958 --> 00:36:37,166

Each different area had, here's what you

00:36:37,166 --> 00:36:39,333

need to do to help move Canadian

00:36:39,333 --> 00:36:41,375

agri-technology forward so we can

00:36:41,375 --> 00:36:43,041

help feed the world.

00:36:43,041 --> 00:36:45,166

To me, that was very exciting because I

00:36:45,166 --> 00:36:47,416

believe Canada is well positioned to

00:36:47,416 --> 00:36:49,208

be able to bring our technology around

00:36:49,208 --> 00:36:51,625

the world. We have leading academic

00:36:51,625 --> 00:36:53,916

institutions, we have great

00:36:53,916 --> 00:36:56,291

skilled labour pools,

00:36:56,291 --> 00:36:58,500

we have government finance, we

00:36:58,500 --> 00:37:00,625

have all of the elements to

00:37:00,625 --> 00:37:03,125

really make a difference and to help

00:37:03,125 --> 00:37:05,083

with ag tech around the world.

00:37:05,083 --> 00:37:06,958

And so for me, that report was really

00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:08,416

exciting and very well read.

00:37:09,416 --> 00:37:11,083

There's another problem facing the

00:37:11,083 --> 00:37:12,875

planet and that's climate change.

00:37:12,875 --> 00:37:15,166

What's the link between climate

00:37:15,166 --> 00:37:17,375

and our climate change and our global

00:37:17,375 --> 00:37:19,125

food systems?

00:37:19,125 --> 00:37:21,333

Yeah, I think when you look at

00:37:21,333 --> 00:37:23,375

climate change and our global food

00:37:23,375 --> 00:37:25,625

systems, one of the biggest impacts

00:37:25,625 --> 00:37:27,833

obviously is severe weather.

00:37:27,833 --> 00:37:30,083

So I'll use the example this,

00:37:30,083 --> 00:37:32,416

in the last year, we've had some very

00:37:32,416 --> 00:37:34,333

significant hurricanes.

00:37:34,333 --> 00:37:36,333

And some of the locations that were hit

00:37:36,333 --> 00:37:38,791

in particular Jamaica is

00:37:38,791 --> 00:37:40,166

one of the countries we've been talking

00:37:40,166 --> 00:37:41,875

to some of their leadership there about

00:37:41,875 --> 00:37:44,166

deploying agri-tunnels to

00:37:44,166 --> 00:37:45,750

help with food stabilization in that

00:37:45,750 --> 00:37:46,875

country.

00:37:46,875 --> 00:37:49,208

The reason is when that hurricane hit,

00:37:49,208 --> 00:37:51,000

they lost 85 % of their crops.

00:37:52,916 --> 00:37:54,250

That's massive.

00:37:54,250 --> 00:37:55,958

And when you're looking at outdoor

00:37:55,958 --> 00:37:57,833

crops, there's the seasonality, as we

00:37:57,833 --> 00:37:59,833

all know, to planting seeds, growing the

00:37:59,833 --> 00:38:01,708

crop and getting the harvest.

00:38:01,708 --> 00:38:03,791

If you've missed that window for

00:38:03,791 --> 00:38:05,875

planting and growing and harvesting and

00:38:05,875 --> 00:38:07,958

you're off season, you may have to

00:38:07,958 --> 00:38:10,041

wait a whole other season before

00:38:10,041 --> 00:38:11,166

you can plant crops.

00:38:11,166 --> 00:38:13,250

With the controlled environment

00:38:13,250 --> 00:38:15,500

agriculture, we can plant crops every

00:38:15,500 --> 00:38:17,375

single day, every single week.

00:38:17,375 --> 00:38:19,125

If things get interrupted for some

00:38:19,125 --> 00:38:21,208

unknown reason, we plant another

00:38:21,208 --> 00:38:23,000

cycle of crops and off we go again.

00:38:24,458 --> 00:38:26,500

Our goal as a company has always been

00:38:26,500 --> 00:38:28,333

to be able to deploy an agri-tunnel

00:38:28,333 --> 00:38:30,916

within 90 days of

00:38:30,916 --> 00:38:32,958

receiving the project; we would have

00:38:32,958 --> 00:38:34,416

the unit on the ground and the first

00:38:34,416 --> 00:38:36,208

crops being planted.

00:38:36,208 --> 00:38:38,291

And based on some of the faster growing

00:38:38,291 --> 00:38:39,708

crops, you can have your first harvest

00:38:39,708 --> 00:38:41,708

coming off within 30 days after that.

00:38:41,708 --> 00:38:42,750

Wow.

00:38:42,750 --> 00:38:45,166

So understanding that there is a

00:38:45,166 --> 00:38:47,750

nimbleness, a responsiveness

00:38:47,750 --> 00:38:49,625

that we can have with that.

00:38:49,625 --> 00:38:51,291

But I think when we look at global

00:38:51,291 --> 00:38:53,291

climate change, being able to understand

00:38:53,291 --> 00:38:54,916

that there are many challenges going to

00:38:54,916 --> 00:38:55,916

be thrown at us.

00:38:57,125 --> 00:39:00,000

Climate change isn't just extreme heat,

00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,166

but that can be one of the most

00:39:02,166 --> 00:39:03,166

damaging.

00:39:03,750 --> 00:39:05,833

The energy consumption that goes with

00:39:05,833 --> 00:39:07,458

that, because if we are heating and

00:39:07,458 --> 00:39:09,791

cooling to be able to combat that,

00:39:09,791 --> 00:39:11,625

that energy draw can be quite

00:39:11,625 --> 00:39:13,666

significant and making sure

00:39:13,666 --> 00:39:15,458

that our systems are able to respond to

00:39:15,500 --> 00:39:17,416

that need as well too.

00:39:17,416 --> 00:39:19,500

But I think severe weather, we're seeing

00:39:19,500 --> 00:39:20,500

it everywhere.

00:39:21,250 --> 00:39:22,750

We've had some of the massive

00:39:22,750 --> 00:39:25,166

thunderstorms, hurricanes,

00:39:25,166 --> 00:39:28,041

tornadoes, hail, flooding,

00:39:28,041 --> 00:39:30,291

all of these different things.

00:39:30,291 --> 00:39:32,083

What excites me, because I've had people

00:39:32,083 --> 00:39:34,083

ask me like, don't get depressed when

00:39:34,083 --> 00:39:36,250

you hear about all this stuff coming.

00:39:36,250 --> 00:39:38,333

The food insecurity, all of

00:39:38,333 --> 00:39:40,041

this stuff and the weather.

00:39:40,041 --> 00:39:42,083

And I think the answer, I have to

00:39:42,083 --> 00:39:44,166

give the answer, no, I don't.

00:39:44,166 --> 00:39:46,125

And the reason is, is I know we've got

00:39:46,125 --> 00:39:48,375

really smart people all

00:39:48,375 --> 00:39:50,791

over the world working on this.

00:39:50,791 --> 00:39:52,166

We can do this.

00:39:52,166 --> 00:39:53,625

We have the technology.

00:39:53,625 --> 00:39:56,166

We know what we need to do.

00:39:56,166 --> 00:39:58,458

And we're just getting things

00:39:58,458 --> 00:39:59,875

organized. We're doing it.

00:39:59,875 --> 00:40:01,000

We're making it happen.

00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,166

We're innovating.

00:40:02,166 --> 00:40:03,083

We're working together.

00:40:03,083 --> 00:40:04,083

We're collaborating.

00:40:05,083 --> 00:40:07,041

It's going to be, I don't want to make

00:40:07,041 --> 00:40:08,666

light of it. It's going to be tough.

00:40:08,666 --> 00:40:10,541

It's going to be work. It's going to be

00:40:10,541 --> 00:40:11,541

hard work.

00:40:11,541 --> 00:40:12,125

Big transition.

00:40:12,125 --> 00:40:14,333

Big transition in how we do things,

00:40:14,333 --> 00:40:16,541

how we consume food.

00:40:16,541 --> 00:40:18,875

I think the average person is

00:40:18,875 --> 00:40:20,291

going to have to make an effort with

00:40:20,291 --> 00:40:22,500

this because how we buy our

00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:24,583

food, how we consume food, we

00:40:24,583 --> 00:40:26,166

have to be more thoughtful about it.

00:40:27,208 --> 00:40:29,250

Supporting your local farmers,

00:40:29,250 --> 00:40:31,000

supporting your local farm market,

00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:33,250

includ- encouraging your grocery

00:40:33,250 --> 00:40:35,458

stores to engage with their local

00:40:35,500 --> 00:40:36,833

farmers.

00:40:36,833 --> 00:40:38,958

We in here in Canada have seen a really

00:40:38,958 --> 00:40:41,000

good engagement with local

00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:43,083

farmers. Not all countries around the

00:40:43,083 --> 00:40:44,958

world have seen that.

00:40:44,958 --> 00:40:47,000

We were really excited to hear recently

00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:49,125

one of our collaborators that we

00:40:49,125 --> 00:40:51,291

work with in Cameroon was

00:40:51,291 --> 00:40:52,916

using similar technology.

00:40:52,916 --> 00:40:54,666

They were using the biodigester

00:40:54,666 --> 00:40:57,166

technology that we use to

00:40:57,166 --> 00:40:59,375

grow crops, regenerate

00:40:59,375 --> 00:41:01,500

the soil. They were doing great things,

00:41:01,500 --> 00:41:03,958

but they couldn't get their produce into

00:41:03,958 --> 00:41:05,708

the grocery store because the grocery

00:41:05,708 --> 00:41:07,000

stores said, no, we have these

00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,041

contracts. Importing,

00:41:09,041 --> 00:41:11,500

that's inconvenient to do it locally.

00:41:11,500 --> 00:41:13,375

They just broke through that barrier a

00:41:13,375 --> 00:41:15,250

couple of months back and they finally

00:41:15,250 --> 00:41:17,333

have local produce in the

00:41:17,333 --> 00:41:19,375

local grocery store. So the change is

00:41:19,375 --> 00:41:20,583

happening.

00:41:20,583 --> 00:41:23,250

It takes some pushing,

00:41:23,250 --> 00:41:25,791

it takes some perseverance,

00:41:25,791 --> 00:41:27,791

and I think when we

00:41:27,791 --> 00:41:29,958

look at the consumer voting

00:41:29,958 --> 00:41:32,166

with their shopping dollar, it

00:41:32,166 --> 00:41:34,750

will happen faster.

00:41:34,750 --> 00:41:36,458

I think that's the role the consumer has

00:41:36,458 --> 00:41:38,375

to play in this conversation to be able

00:41:38,375 --> 00:41:40,458

to say, I want a more resilient

00:41:40,458 --> 00:41:41,750

food supply chain.

00:41:41,750 --> 00:41:44,166

I want to support local farmers.

00:41:44,166 --> 00:41:46,250

So find the sources locally to be

00:41:46,250 --> 00:41:48,333

able to do that and push

00:41:48,333 --> 00:41:49,583

for that change.

00:41:49,583 --> 00:41:52,791

And your lettuces or produce

00:41:52,791 --> 00:41:54,625

compared to the prices in the grocery

00:41:54,625 --> 00:41:56,916

store, is it similar

00:41:56,916 --> 00:41:58,541

or is it different?

00:41:58,541 --> 00:42:00,916

Yeah, the commercial

00:42:00,916 --> 00:42:02,583

farms that we have locally that are

00:42:02,583 --> 00:42:04,708

supplying into the retail

00:42:04,708 --> 00:42:06,750

chain, they're going in at

00:42:06,750 --> 00:42:07,791

comparable prices.

00:42:09,958 --> 00:42:11,750

Could they charge more as a premium

00:42:11,750 --> 00:42:14,583

product because their products are

00:42:14,583 --> 00:42:17,333

almost, they're beyond organic.

00:42:17,333 --> 00:42:18,583

Because they're not grown in soil, they

00:42:18,583 --> 00:42:20,583

can't certify as organic under the

00:42:20,583 --> 00:42:22,125

Organic Certification Board.

00:42:22,125 --> 00:42:24,166