egans I feel sorry for, most vegetarians are anemic and I’ve never met a human carnivore. The South Beach diet will make you poor, Atkins died of a fat-induced heart attack and ephedrine kills people. With all these wonderful dietary options to choose from it’s a wonder that obesity is still a leading cause of death on this continent. Food shortages are making the news more and more and are forecasted to be one of the main issues surrounding globalization in the near future. How much gas was burned to get your homemade dinner to the table? Chances are it’s way more than necessary. The solution to the food problem can be summed up in the Oxford Word of the Year for 2007: Locavore.

The locavore idea – people who only eat locally grown food items - is that locally grown produce can be grown with less hormones and pesticides, can use less packaging, will be fresher and will use less gasoline because it isn’t traveling here from across the ocean. Toronto has taken to the locavore movement wholeheartedly with fresh farmer’s markets popping up in city parks on weekends and new restaurants dealing with local farmers as their sole suppliers. A new locavore-friendly shop has hit Leslieville to offer Eastenders a taste of the new trend.

Rowe Farms started off as a family farm in 1967. Ken Rowe raised cattle, sheep, poultry, pigs and eggs for his family’s livelihood on their quaint farm in Guelph, Ontario. Rowe, being the talented veterinarian that he was, came up with a farming philosophy that is getting its due attention forty years later. Rowe Farms treat their animals with respect. It is written in their contract that the animals won’t live in fear, will always have access to food, water and sunlight, are vegetarian fed and are free of growth hormones and sub-therapeutic antibiotics.

The latter drugs are used to ensure sanitary levels on meat farms where the animals are stuffed indoors on top of one another. Growth hormones are used to artificially speed up an animal’s growth so that they can be killed faster. Sure, these tactics are sound in terms of product production levels and business savvy but they are harming the people who eat these products, and hormones, in the end. People have forgotten about the age-old saying, “You are what you eat.” Luckily Rowe Farms hasn’t and is on the verge of significant expansion right on time.

Toronto’s first Rowe Farms store has opened up at 912 Queen Street East. When asked about Leslieville as the chosen location for the flagship shop store manager Eyren Davis explained that it was the perfect fit. Not only is there already a butcher, a baker and a cheese shop on the same block, making the strip a regular grocery store now, but the neighbourhood is one of Toronto’s most up-and-coming. Eyren said that the response from locals has been overwhelming, especially with inquiries from local restaurants. The Farm has already signed up to start supplying Joy Bistro and has been approached by Barrio and My Name is Leslie Jones as well. Rowe hopes to add a whole slew of restaurants to their supplier list since they also plan to open up at least twenty new retail stores in Toronto in the next twenty years.

Along with fresh choice cuts of beef, poultry, lamb, pork, eggs and cured meats the shop offers homemade sauces and marinades, organic dairy products and oven ready options. The best part is that everything sold at Rowe Farms is from Ontario. It just became a lot easier to jump on the locavore train and trim a few inches off of Ontario’s carbon footprint. –J.T.

912 Queen Street East,
Toronto, ON
416-461-4383
11am – 7pm
10am – 7pm sat
11am – 5pm sun