To show support for Canada amid a trade war with the U.S., John Mackay says he tries to only buy Canadian products during grocery runs.
That’s why the 81-year-old from Tillsonburg, Ont., said he’s complained to Metro multiple times after seeing orange juice with pulp by Irrésistible — a Metro-owned private-label brand — with a red maple leaf next to the price tag on the shelf.
“Since when are we growing oranges in Canada?” said Mackay, whose home is roughly 115 kilometres west of Hamilton. “I was pissed off.”
It sucks that grocery stores make these labels based on where the company that sells these products come from. I mean, CocaCola and Red Bull both have a maple leaf tag at my usual grocery store because they have subsidiaries that are Canada based, though I last I heard the syrup as well as the bottles come from the US for Coke, and is only bottled in Canada.
At the very least, outside of the produce isle, it is pretty easy to buy mostly local. We produce so much base foodstuffs that a general guideline will mostly work. Anything that’s grains, fruits, meats, and diary are probably Canadian, aside from tropical fruit at least. Nuts are hit or miss, but a lot of them come from California. Unfortunately a lot of rice is also from California. Oranges are almost all from Florida, so the first thing most people should do is cut oranges from their diets, preferably permanently and find a new favourite fruit like blueberries or apples.
The unfortunate truth though when it comes to groceries, is that it’s nearly impossible to give at least a little bit to the US with your purchases. Less than a half dozen companies own more than 80% of the products stocked at most grocery stores in Canada, all of which I believe are American. The maple leaf tag just means that there is a Canadian company in between the owners and the product.