Where Does Your Food Come From? The UBC Map and Why We Need a Diet Revolution
A new UBC project, Canada Food Flows, has mapped out where our fruits and vegetables come from, and the results are eye-opening. In British Columbia, 81% of spinach, 70% of lettuce, and 97% of avocados come from the United States and Mexico. Why? Because our food system is designed around convenience and corporate profits, not health and sustainability.
It wasn’t always this way.
What Our Parents Ate in Vancouver (1930s–1950s)
Back then, people didn’t eat imported avocados and mangoes or guzzle sugar-filled energy drinks. They ate local, seasonal, and home-cooked food because there was no other option.
1. Local & Seasonal Food
- Berries were picked in the summer and canned or preserved for winter.
- Meat came from local farms and butchers, not factory-farmed animals pumped with hormones.
- Milk was delivered in glass bottles—no plastic waste, no added sugars.
- Bread was fresh, often homemade, not packed with preservatives to sit on a shelf for weeks.
2. No Ultra-Processed Junk
- No high-fructose corn syrup. No energy drinks. No Starbucks charging $7 for sugar-laden coffee.
- No aisles full of processed garbage—meals were made from scratch.
- People didn’t waste money on fast food because it didn’t exist like it does today.
3. Food Waste Wasn’t an Option
- Leftovers were eaten, not thrown out.
- Vegetable scraps were used for soups and broths.
- People had gardens and grew their own food—even in cities!
Fast Forward to 2025: We’re Paying to Be Sick
Today, people pay $7 for a coffee, $20 for a fast-food meal, and don’t think twice about throwing food away. Meanwhile, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are skyrocketing. Kids are being raised on sugar, processed meats, and ultra-processed snacks. They don’t even know what real food is.
We Need to Flip the Canadian Diet on Its Head
- No more mass-produced, ultra-processed junk.
- Eat what actually grows here—berries, turnips, squash, greens.
- Stop depending on imports—no more avocados, oranges, or tropical foods.
- Revive traditional Indigenous food knowledge—wild salmon, wild rice, game meats.
- Say no to corporate-controlled food—support local farms, buy from farmers’ markets, or grow your own.
Time to Wake Up
We don’t need to live off overpriced, over-processed, sugar-laden garbage. We need to demand better, eat better, and teach the next generation what real food is.
Your Move: What Will You Change?
- Can you grow your own food? Start small.
- Can you ditch fast food and cook at home?
- Can you cut out processed sugar, alcohol, and garbage snacks?
- Can you educate your kids about food?
It starts with us. We can’t keep eating like this and expect to be healthy. Let’s wake up, take control, and change the way we eat—before it’s too late.
