A group of turkeys gather in a field at the Aubins' farm in Spencerville, Ont. The couple said they sold out of turkeys ahead of this year's Thanksgiving.(Submitted by Vera Martynkiw) With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Canadians' thoughts turn to their stomachs and the meal that will fill them. And this year more than ever, concerns about the environment are helping to decide what makes it on the harvest table.

Go to almost any city or town and you'll see the trend in action. Farmers markets are springing up across the country "like mushrooms after the rain," says food security expert Cathleen Kneen.

Farmers markets, like this one in the Halifax Seaport, are cropping up 'like mushrooms after the rain,' says Cathleen Kneen. (CBC)

"People are hungry for direct relationships, and they find that at the farmers market," said Kneen, chair of Food Secure Canada, an alliance of advocacy groups seeking to get Canadians thinking about where their food comes from.

Politicians have taken notice. On Wednesday, NDP MP Malcolm Allen introduced a private member's bill calling for the designation of National Local Food Day, to be observed every year on the Friday before Thanksgiving.

The concern about food usually drives consumers to organics, locally grown food or a combination of both.

According to statistics compiled by Canadian Organic Growers, the market for organic food products was worth $1.5 billon in 2006. By 2008, a Neilsen study commissioned by Agriculture Canada estimated the Canadian organics sector made $2 billion.

The recession wasn't kind to the industry, though.

"We got slammed," moans Laura Telford, executive director of Canadian Organic Growers, whose members include farmers, gardeners, processors, retailers and consumers. Particularly hard hit were the organic grain and processed-food sectors. On the fresh side — vegetables and meats bought at markets or in grocery stores — there was no loss but little growth.

Back to the farm

On the locally grown side of the equation, more and more consumers are going straight to the farm.

Tim and Roshan Aubin own and run Aubin Farm in Spencerville, Ont., about a 45-minute drive from Ottawa. On their 30-hectare patch of land, they raise lambs, chickens, vegetables and — most importantly at Thanksgiving — turkeys.

They sell their produce at farmers markets in Brockville and Kemptville, but also have regular customers who make the journey directly to their barn.

"They can look and see where it was grown," Tim Aubin said. "They can talk to me, and that's how it's done."

The Aubins have no problem selling their turkeys. This year, they were sold out a week in advance of Thanksgiving — a first.

But not everyone is convinced of the environmental benefits of organic and locally produced foods.

'They can look and see where it was grown.'—Ontario farmer Tim Aubin

"Organic has this major problem in that we just don't have enough biologically fixed nitrogen to supply the food needs of humanity, and the only way to get more organic nitrogen is to take more wildlife habitat," said food researcher Alex Avery.

And then there's the cost at the till. Organic and locally grown food can't compete with the alternatives. "People have a hard time understanding just how unbelievably efficient the larger shipping and transportation networks really are per unit of food, and the one way you can tell is cost," said Avery, who works for the Hudson Institute, a conservative U.S. think-tank.

But none of that bothers organic and locally grown believers like Cathleen Kneen.

"I ask you, if you are going to eat food, would you rather eat food, or eat something that is manufactured to resemble food because that's cheap?" she said. "How much is your health worth? How much is the future of your kids worth to you?"