Quebec strawberries are no longer a summer privilege. On supermarket shelves appear more and more of these small red fruits grown in greenhouses during the winter. But while waiting for the (real) season which begins in June, is it better to buy local strawberries or those produced in California?
“Greenhouse strawberry production is THE horticultural revolution of the decade,” says the general director of the Association of Strawberry and Raspberry Producers of Quebec (APFFQ), Stéphanie Forcier.
“With climate change and the conditions we experienced last year [le gel en mai, la sécheresse et les pluies diluviennes], more producers have turned to this type of culture, she continues. There are fewer losses than in the field and this allows us to have a longer presence on the shelves.”
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Around fifteen companies now produce strawberries in greenhouses in Quebec, she says. Among these is the agri-food giant Savoura.
In 2020, the Legault government launched the program to support the development of greenhouse businesses. The objective was to double greenhouse production by 2025 in order to accelerate food autonomy in the province.
At 1er May 2023, 114 projects had already benefited from the grant of up to $600,000.
Greenhouses heated with natural gas
From an economic point of view, it is always better to buy local. The money invested in local businesses stays in Quebec and contributes to strengthening food autonomy.
Events like the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the droughts in California have served as reminders of how much the province depends on global trade for its supplies. Instability on the international scene is another incentive to favor local commerce, we can read in the book from the 24 Heures collection, Living with just one planet.
For the environment, however, local fruits and vegetables should only be prioritized when they are in season.
During the winter, the environmental impact of growing in a greenhouse is such that it is preferable to choose a strawberry that comes from California, even if it has traveled 4,500 kilometers in a refrigerated truck. Because it is during production, and not during transport, that the majority of greenhouse gases (GHG) are generated.
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“Most greenhouses in Quebec are heated with natural gas or oil during the cold season. Even those that run on hydroelectricity must have a backup system during peak consumption,” explains M.me Forcier.
To travel to Montreal, 1 kg of Californian strawberries will emit 0.9 kg of GHGs, the food engineer and research associate at the International Reference Center for Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainable Transition (CIRAIG) mentioned in December. at Polytechnique Montréal, Catherine Houssard, at the microphone of Search engineon ICI Première.
In a greenhouse, the same weight of strawberries will produce on average 2.1 kg of GHGs, more than double those from California.
And that’s without counting the thousands of tons of residue that are sent to landfill each year. The stems, leaves and growing substrates cannot be composted, being contaminated by the plastic ties and ropes necessary for growth in a greenhouse, we learn from a report from Green week. Sorting the material would be far too time consuming and costly.
Other more ecological options than gas exist, however, assures Mme Houssard, like industrial ecology systems, which make it possible to recover heat generated by other companies.
The Neuville Vegetable Cellar, a farm in the Quebec region, uses, for example, the hot air produced by the computers of an IT company to heat their greenhouse in which strawberries grow in winter.
• Read also: A greenhouse heated by computers wants to be the model for the future of local agriculture
Expensive strawberries, but with an “incomparable taste”
Despite government investments to develop greenhouse cultivation – and a discount of a few cents per kilowatt hour – access to hydroelectricity remains complex for producers.
“Many do not have access to three-phase current [nécessaire à l’équipement électrique] due to their geographical location. They therefore have to pay a very large amount to connect,” laments Stéphanie Forcier of the Association of Strawberry and Raspberry Producers of Quebec (APFFQ).
This makes it difficult to make a profit with winter strawberries.
“Producers still choose to invest significant sums in greenhouse facilities to extend the season, because the demand is there,” she emphasizes.
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The price of winter strawberries, which sell for $7 for a 541 ml tray in grocery stores, does not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of restaurateurs and “niche” customers.
“The quality, taste and freshness are second to none. They are harvested the day before and are in supermarkets the next day,” insists the general director of the APFFQ.
Some producers also opt for greenhouse cultivation not to offer strawberries 12 months a year, but to extend the season and carve out a place in the market in which Ontario is the biggest competitor.
They grow a variety called “short-day strawberries”, harvested in May, which does not require light.
“It allows them to have a first in the spring. The greenhouse costs less in heating because the plans do not spend the winter inside. They only have to pay a small amount to heat it at least,” explains M.me Forcier.