Some farmers use eco-friendly farming techniques such as strip cropping, where lines of different crops are sowed in strips across the slope of a hill to prevent water flow from fields that contributes to soil erosion.

Guests of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler in August had the opportunity to attend an al fresco dining experience at the North Arm Farm in Pemberton, B.C., where diners were fed a message with the food.

Each August, the hotel teams with local restaurateurs to participate in the Feast of Fields, a regional six-course dinner event that celebrates the sustainability efforts of local producers, wineries and breweries.

The annual event is intended to help forge a link "from farm to fork," as those in sustainable farming circles say.

Not to be confused with organic farming, sustainable farming is an all-encompassing concept that combines economics, environmental stewardship and community participation. In simple terms, it is a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, provides a fair wage to farmers and supports and enhances communities.

"True sustainability only works when you combine sound environmental practices, economic viability and social responsibility."
— FoodTrust CEO Alan Miller

"A lot of people mix sustainable agriculture with organic, but they are two different beasts," explained Steve Bromley, president and CEO of SunOpta Inc. in Brampton, Ont. "Organic is structured and highly regulated. Sustainable farming relates to agricultural practices and economics. It's based on the notion of the farm being adaptable to change over time so it can continue to maintain economic and environmental viability over time."

That means dispensing with farming practices that strip the soil of nutrients, contribute to soil erosion or threaten a continuous supply of produce in other ways.

Whistler executive chef Vincent Stufano.

The commitment to local producers is not just a once-a-year occasion for Chateau Whistler executive chef Vincent Stufano and his culinary team. In any given week, staff meet with visiting farmers, butchers and fishermen from across the province to taste their wares and purchase everything from fresh cherries and hazelnuts to oysters and organic beef.

The move to promoting sustainable food practices has long been a big part of the company's brand-wide Green Partnership program, said Serge Simard, vice-president of food and beverage for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. "Consumers today want to know where their food is sourced and how it is produced. Fairmont menus provide those sources by highlighting local, organic ingredients and the people who produce them."

Simard maintains that by supporting sustainable farming practices across all properties, "We can also increase demand and make it more profitable for the producers. It's a nice thing to do for the economy, the community and the environment."

Focus on sustainability

The drive to get the hospitality industry and food retailers to support sustainable farming practices has been increasing as the industry — and consumers — suffer the fallout from decades of over-farming land and overuse of chemicals in food production.

"Now producers and the companies that support them are looking to sustainability of practices far more seriously," said SunOpta's Bromley.

While there are no formalized standards for sustainable farming, FoodTrust in Charlottetown, P.E.I., is a not-for-profit organization that is working with local producers to develop standards, products and marketing support to bolster acceptance in the consumer market.

FoodTrust CEO Alan Miller said they take a multi-faceted approach. "We don't go out and market sustainable agriculture as a single dimension. It's one aspect in a broader spectrum of high-quality and innovative produce backed by environmental standards. True sustainability only works when you combine sound environmental practices, economic viability and social responsibility."

Forging relationships

The "crop scout" in this picture is part of a team that keeps tabs on fields so that farmers can identify pest and disease problems early. Farmers can then take measures to deal with affected areas quickly before a problem spreads, reducing the amount of pesticides and herbicides that need to be used over the course of a season.

Finding ways to connect consumers with producers and vice versa is an especially important component of sustainability, said Barry Cudmore of Barry and Ellen Cudmore Inc., a pork and potato producer on P.E.I.

"We can no longer eat for today and forget about tomorrow," he said. "People who take the food purchasing system for granted do so at their own peril. They rely on everyone without knowing them. That's what's neat about sustainable systems, because it gets people to look at having the relationships with the people that produce them [food products]."

On a recent trip to a food show in Chicago, Cudmore had the opportunity to talk potatoes with a head chef at an upscale restaurant. "One comment he made stuck in my mind: ‘In our business, we don't meet many live farmers.' That's not the way it should be."

Given that the marketing and distribution of sustainable products is beyond most producers' budgets (and schedules), they are the first to admit that getting the message out and building market demand takes distribution and marketing support from the likes of the SunOptas, FoodTrusts and Fairmonts of the world.

"There is a lot of press behind the 100-mile diet [eating food from within 100 miles of home] and the view that if you want to maintain the farm land, you have to support the products. With demand increasing, so is supply. If we didn't have companies like SunOpta doing our marketing and distribution, I don't think we would be able to grow our company the way we have," said Shelly Harris, a co-owner of Fraserland Organics vegetable growers in Delta, B.C.

Harris and Cudmore both agree that chefs also have a key role in building awareness.

"Chefs have a big role to play in sustainability because they can influence a lot of people and producers," Cudmore said.

Whistler's Stufano agrees that the culinary community has a responsibility to promote sustainable farming.

"We need to do our part," he said. "That's important. The more we participate, the more we get involved, the more produce will materialize. Whenever we can support it, we should. We owe it to the producers, to ourselves and our customers. It's all good stuff."

Cudmore believes that kind of thinking will bring rewards for producers.

"If we can prove we are committed to more sustainable systems … society will reward us," he said.