September is Organic Month, letting people know some of the organic foods available in Canada. That's being spearheaded by the Canadian Organic Trade Association, through their Choose Canada Organic program.
Tia Loftsgard, the Executive Director at the Canada Organic Trade Association, talks about Organic Month and what they hope to share with Canadians.
"Organic Month is the national celebration of all things organic, and we have a series of events that are promoting and educating consumers and everybody about what organic is and the benefits of organic."
"We have a series of different events happening across the country, whether it's farm tours while the farmers are harvesting, or in-store retail activations. We're hosting events down in Toronto. There are all sorts of different events and online activations, really, with all sorts of social media tools that are really deepening the understanding of what is organic across the country."
For Loftsgard, educating the public about organic foods is all about keeping people aware of what they're eating.
"Organic is the original way that we have always produced food in the world, and it certainly has had lots of success. So now, we have to label things as organic to truly understand that they are without the use of synthetic pesticides and GMOs, and that they don't have some of the dyes and preservatives that conventional food does."
"It's one of the things that is in high demand. People really want to understand what is in their food. They want to understand where it comes from. They want to understand that it's good for the environment. So this is our opportunity to come together as a sector and really kind of deepen that education, reveal some new facts that have come out, new studies."
She hopes that people come away from their various events with a complete understanding of what it means for food to be organic.
"Organic is so many things that it breaks it down to really understand what the different claims are, and that they understand that organic is not just good for their own body, but that it's good for the environment. It also has humane treatment of animals integrated into the standards. It really looks at how to make sure that we're doing more integrated farming techniques like cover cropping, using green manures, and really trying to have more pollinator strips happening on the agricultural side."
Loftsgard invites people to head to their website, choosecanadaorganic.ca, for more information on some of the web and in-person events over the month.
"There are all sorts of contests where you can win all sorts of fun prizes, and we encourage everybody to follow along. We even have free film viewings happening throughout the month, and a series of different events going on that you can just follow our Facebook page, and you'll see everything that's happening."
Loftsgard says she's confident in the organic industry's continued growth as more people learn about what's in their food.