Canada: B.C. seeds sales remain strong amid rising food prices
B.C.-based West Coast Seeds saw interest in gardening grow during COVID-19; it continues to thrive as food has become more expensive.
By Glenda Luymes
Vancouver Sun
Apr 16, 2023
Excerpt:
With 1,100 varieties for sale — from ever popular rainbow carrots to tricky-to-grow Himalayan blue poppies — the B.C.-based seed company saw demand surge during COVID-19 and remain strong amid rising food prices.
A 2020 study from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax found that 51 per cent of Canadians grow at least one variety of fruit or vegetable in a garden — with 17.4 per cent starting their garden during the pandemic. In B.C., more people now grow some food than those who don’t grow any.
Saks, president of West Coast Seeds, said the sudden increase in demand during the lockdown led to a backlog that took several months to clear. But B.C.’s newest green thumbs have proven faithful as the pandemic waned, with many continuing to seek seeds to grow their own food and live more sustainably.
The rising cost of food may also play a role. The Dalhousie study found 85 per cent of gardeners were concerned food prices would rise.
“Results show many Canadians remain quite anxious and really wanted to take control of their own food supply chain during a time of great uncertainty,” director of the Dalhousie food lab Sylvain Charlebois said at the time.
Saks said he views seeds as eventual food — and a way to help “repair” the earth.
“All our seeds are non-GMO,” he said on a recent tour of the company’s Delta test gardens.
