The plant has been traced back to Egypt some 6,000 years ago and is a member of the sunflower family. That may surprise you because we often think of sunflowers in terms of the flower and the oil. But lettuce was not grown for its leaves, it was grown for the seed which was made into oil.

Lettuce historically had a dual purpose — seed and milk. The milky stem on the mature plants was used as a narcotic (and sometimes as an aphrodisiac) and was a form of latex. Today much of the narcotic properties have been bred out.

As history moved along, someone decided to start eating the leaves and thus began the development of the varieties we have today. Although lettuce is a good source of vitamin A and K, it is really only the darker-leafed varieties that have measurable food value.

In terms of food waste, the discard from growing lettuce is very high with the romaine variety being almost entirely trashed as only the heart of the plant is sold. The rest stays in the field. I have been privileged to be on lettuce farms, in greenhouses and in the processing plants where the leaves are washed and bagged or the heads put in a transparent clamshell for retail. The waste in the plant is also significant.

On average, a lettuce field will produce 26,000 heads per acre of which 75 per cent is marketable. As a shallow-rooted annual that is 97 per cent water, I wonder what the value is in taking highly productive, good draining land and growing a moderately nutritious plant. Use of water is 10 times higher in field lettuce than in vertical growing.

This is not an attack on lettuce farmers for they are responding to consumer demand. Though Canada is a top importer of lettuce it is also eighth in terms of lettuce exports (primarily to Asia). This export product is grown inside, often in a non-soil medium.

There are also 8,000 hectares of lettuce fields in the country. Those fields require significant inputs to prepare the seedbed, plant, fertilize, manage and harvest. As the land must have good drainage, there is a run-off environmental risk. And the labour component is huge in the entire production and processing. Transport of the retail or food-service-ready product is expensive as the load is light and has to be tightly temperature controlled.

Looking at the big picture, it is clear that a plant-based diet — particularly one built around high-input annuals such as lettuce — is costly in terms of land and water use, chemical and fertilizer use, labour and equipment, energy and environmental risk. Folks may not fully appreciate that the farmer responds to their demand and buying patterns and in doing so, that demand perpetuates land use for water-hungry annuals.

A society of privilege is a society of choice. But perhaps it is time to rethink our choices.

Every acre counts not only in food production for the day but in food production for the future. Given a choice, what would you like the food production of the future to look like?

Nutrient-dense plants that offer a broader spectrum of nutrition or food animals that contribute to regeneration of the soil would benefit both the farmer and the consumer. That does not mean that lettuce will not be grown, but there is a chance that it may very well be grown in the future for its oil, not leaves. Produced indoors in a non-soil medium and with less water is perhaps a better way to provide leaves and frees up highly productive land for other activities that can contribute to building microbes and retaining valuable water.

You can’t live on lettuce. Yet lettuce, tomato and onion are the consumer’s first choice — they are the most purchased raw foods in Canada. Tomato is a fruit brought to us by the Aztecs and traced back to 700 AD, while onions are recorded as a medicinal aid and then food as far back as the Bronze Age.

There is a lot of history behind the food we eat that transcends into consumer choices. However, the growing global population, the shortage of cooking oil, the pressure on land and the disruptions in the supply chain may change the salad plate to a nutrient-fuelled experience that includes not only fibre, vitamins and minerals but robust offerings of animal proteins.

While consumers are facing the task of making their food budget stretch, farmers are facing huge production and marketing challenges across the globe.

They need to be supported as they transition into new products and markets for fresh and value-added foods. There is a smorgasbord of both choice and opportunity. We cannot know what the future holds, but sometimes a peek at history influences what road will be travelled.

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Whole Leaf, based outside Coaldale, about 20 km east of Lethbridge, was announced last week as the lettuce supplier for the chain’s 384 stores across Canada.

Wendy’s, in a July 14 release, billed itself as the first national brand in the Canadian quick-serve restaurant (QSR) industry to serve greenhouse-grown lettuce in all its restaurants across the country.

Wendy’s said Whole Leaf’s greenhouse technology allows it to “capture and reduce its water consumption by over 90 per cent compared to field-grown lettuce.”

Whole Leaf, on its website, said its process uses one litre of water to grow one head of lettuce, “compared to 100-120 litres of water used for field-grown lettuce.”

The company said its facilities today produce over 20 million heads per year, year-round.

Wendy’s said Whole Leaf also has an on-site process to capture both waste heat and carbon dioxide, cutting emissions and “allowing it to be completely self-sufficient for electricity and heating.”

The move to Whole Leaf also allows Wendy’s to source lettuce grown in “Canadian-sourced” peat, and “with zero pesticides.”

With “supply predictability and consistency” also expected from the move, Lisa Deletroz, senior director for marketing with Wendy’s Canada, said the shift to Whole Leaf will also allow the chain to “further support Canadian producers and the Canadian economy.”

“With more Canadians looking for sustainable products, this strategic partnership allows us to reach Wendy’s customers all-year round with high-quality fresh produce alongside a brand that — like (Whole Leaf’s retail brand) Inspired Leaves — is committed to quality and sustainability,” Whole Leaf senior director of sales Rindi Bristol said in the same release.

The company in 2018 took a similar approach to tomato sourcing across its North American chain, pledging to transition to an “exclusively” greenhouse-grown, vine-ripened supply by early 2019.

Wendy’s said at the time its tomatoes would come mainly from greenhouse farms in both the U.S. and Canada, “from sources that match our North American restaurant footprint.”

Wendy’s also said at the time that its tomato sourcing decision “further strengthens our commitment to responsible sourcing practices by providing safe, indoor working conditions, shelter from the elements and environmental contaminants, reduced water and land use burdens, and a significantly reduced need for chemical pesticides.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Les Serres Lefort, which operates almost 50 acres of greenhouse facilities at Sainte-Clotilde in Quebec’s Monteregie, announced Sept. 10 it had filed a notice of intention on Sept. 6 to file a proposal with Quebec’s Superior Court.

The filing of the notice of intention effectively stays any proceedings against the Lefort business, pending court approval of its proposal.

Documents posted by bankruptcy trustee Raymond Chabot lay out about $44.68 million in debts owed to three secured and 148 unsecured creditors — the secured creditors being financial co-operative Desjardins ($31.68 million), provincial business development lender Investissement Quebec ($6.9 million) and RBC Banque Royale ($1,911).

Reasons for the company’s filing weren’t given in the documents available online, but company president Sylvain Lefort was quoted Tuesday in La Terre de chez nous, the news arm of Quebec’s Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), as saying the company’s returns from organic vegetable production fell short of its targets.

Lefort also told the newspaper he was in the midst of negotiations to ensure the company’s operations would continue.

La Terre also quoted Claude Laniel, president of Quebec greenhouse grower group Producteurs en serre du Quebec, as being concerned that whatever new investors or owners take over the business might set aside Lefort’s organic expansion plans in lieu of restoring profitability in the shorter term.

Television network TVA, in a separate report Monday, said it had information tying the company’s financial troubles to production problems and cost overruns in Lefort’s organic cucumber and bell pepper business.

Les Serres Lefort, in business since 1984, produces an estimated 65 per cent of Quebec’s plant grafts for crop propagation, and grows greenhouse lettuce sold under the Mirabel brand. In 2013 it began marketing vegetables, including organics, under the VOG and VOG BIO brands.

The company in 2016 announced a $27 million investment to add almost 20 acres of new greenhouse space at Sainte-Clotilde, an expansion it said would make it one of the largest producers of organic greenhouse vegetables in North America.

The company said at the time it expected to produce over 500,000 cases of organic cucumbers annually on a year-round basis, plus over 250,000 cases of bell peppers in a March-to-December growing season each year.

“It’s time that we stopped watching our out-of-province competitors and that we use our own resources and expertise to develop our industry,” Sylvain Lefort said in a release at the time. “This is the beginning of a great adventure that will hopefully snowball in an industry that deserves to grow.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Sixty-two people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli were reported from 16 states and the District of Columbia, the CDC said in an update on its investigation into the outbreak.

The multistate outbreak of E. coli infections related to romaine lettuce led to a nationwide public health warning for consumers and was first issued by U.S. health regulators in November.

Canada’s Public Health Agency said the E. coli outbreak in Canada appeared to be over as of Dec. 24, and noted there have not been any related illnesses reported since mid-November.

PHAC said Dec. 24 it was no longer advising residents in the affected provinces — Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick — to avoid eating romaine lettuce and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce.

CDC said it identified the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 in sediment collected within an agricultural water reservoir on a farm in Santa Barbara County.

People infected with the bacteria get sick two to eight days after swallowing the germ, and may sometimes develop a type of kidney failure.

The regulator advised people not to eat, sell or serve any recalled red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, and cauliflower harvested between Nov. 27 and 30, 2018 from Adam Bros. Farming, in Santa Barbara County.

No deaths in the U.S. were reported, though 25 people were hospitalized, including two people who developed a type of kidney failure, the CDC said.

Canada, as of Dec. 24, had reported 29 confirmed cases of E. coli-related illness in the related outbreak, including 20 in Quebec, five in Ontario and one in New Brunswick. plus three in British Columbia believed to be related to travel to Ontario, Quebec and the U.S.

Of those 29, 10 people were hospitalized; of the 10, two suffered from hemolytic-uremic syndrome. No deaths were reported. The cases occurred between mid-October and mid-November.

— Reporting for Reuters by Manogna Maddipatla in Bangalore. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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Loblaw Companies announced Wednesday it was recalling and removing from its store shelves across the country all romaine lettuce products “out of an abundance of caution.”

Sobeys also said Wednesday it has temporarily stopped the sale of all romaine lettuce products — over 300, it said — across its national store network, which includes Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Thrifty Foods and Foodland among others.

According to news reports, Walmart’s Canadian arm and the Metro grocery chain in Eastern Canada have also pulled romaine from their stores.

As of Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported 22 confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7-related illness in people in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick in the current outbreak, with 17, four and one respectively. The illnesses were reported between mid-October and early November.

In the U.S., as of Tuesday, there were 32 reported cases in 11 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The most were in California (10), Michigan (seven) and New Jersey (three).

In Canada, the investigation so far identifies exposure to romaine lettuce as a source of the outbreak, but no specific cause of contamination yet, the Public Health Agency of Canada said Friday.

Romaine lettuce is being sampled and tested in the federal food safety investigation, PHAC said, but so far all products that have been tested have turned up negative for E. coli.

With no contaminated product yet found in the marketplace and the source of the contamination not yet identified, there have been no product recalls in either Canada or the U.S. connected to this round of outbreaks, PHAC said.

“If a specific brand or source of romaine lettuce is identified in Canada the CFIA will take the necessary steps to protect the public, including recalling the product as required.”

However, PHAC said, it’s advising consumers in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick to avoid eating romaine lettuce and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce “until more is known about the outbreak and the cause of contamination.”

Romaine lettuce can have a shelf life of up to five weeks, so it’s possible contaminated romaine lettuce consumers bought over the past few weeks may still be in their homes.

Residents in impacted provinces are also advised to discard any romaine lettuce still in their homes and to “properly wash and sanitize” any containers or bins that came in contact with romaine lettuce.

The agencies’ advice applies to “all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad.”

E. coli-related illnesses in people are often caused by raw fruits and vegetables that have come in contact with feces from infected animals, CFIA said. Leafy greens such as lettuce can also become contaminated in fields by soil, water, animals or “improperly composted” manure.

Lettuce and other leafy greens don’t naturally contain such bacteria but can also be contaminated during and after harvest from handling, storage and transport, or at grocery stores, in refrigerators or from counters and cutting boards through cross-contamination with bacteria from raw meat, poultry or seafood.

According to the FDA, genetic analysis of the E. coli O157:H7 strains from patients in the current outbreak are similar to strains of E. coli O157:H7 associated with a previous outbreak from the fall of 2017 in both Canada and the U.S.

That outbreak was associated with leafy greens in the U.S. and romaine in Canada, FDA said, while romaine lettuce is the suspected vehicle for the current U.S. and Canadian outbreaks.

There is no genetic link between the current outbreak and a separate E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to romaine in the spring of 2018, FDA added.

The reappearance of the same strain “suggests there may be a reoccurring source of contamination,” CFIA said, noting investigators are also using evidence from 2017 to help identify a possible cause of contamination.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian field vegetable growers marketed about 101,016 tonnes of leaf and head lettuce in 2016, while greenhouse vegetable growers that year produced another 12,171 tonnes. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The alerts, issued as millions of Americans plan their Thanksgiving Day menus, covered all forms of romaine, including whole heads, hearts, bags, mixes and Caesar salad.

Officials were uncertain of the source of the tainted lettuce.

“Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce in their home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said in its food safety alert.

Refrigerator drawers and shelves where romaine lettuce had been stored should be sanitized, the CDC said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada, which is investigating 15 E. coli cases in Quebec and three in Ontario, directed its romaine lettuce alert at consumers in those two provinces.

In the U.S., the CDC said the outbreak affected 32 people in 11 states between Oct. 8 and 31. No deaths have been reported, both agencies said.

Symptoms of the infection often include a moderate fever, severe stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, which is often bloody, the CDC said. Most people get better in five to seven days, but it can be life-threatening, it said.

The agency said the current outbreak is unrelated to another multi-state rash of E. coli infections related to romaine lettuce earlier this year that left five people dead and sickened nearly 200.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the CDC traced the origin of that contamination to irrigation water in the Yuma, Arizona growing region.

PHAC said Tuesday that analysis shows the illnesses reported in the latest outbreak are genetically related to illnesses reported in a previous E. coli outbreak from December 2017 that affected consumers in both Canada and the U.S.

“This tells us that the same strain of E. coli is causing illness in Canada and the U.S. as was seen in 2017 and it suggests there may be a reoccurring source of contamination.”

Individuals in the Ontario and Quebec cases reported eating romaine lettuce at home, as well as in prepared salads from grocery stores, and in menu items ordered at restaurants and fast food chains, PHAC said.

— Reporting for Reuters by Peter Szekely in New York. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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Nunhems, which has a portfolio of about 1,200 seed varieties in over two dozen different vegetable crops worldwide, sells seeds in North America for tomatoes, spinach, peppers, carrots, onions, cucumbers, lettuce, leeks and melons.

“Through this and related moves, Bayer is confident of fully addressing all concerns of the European Commission” and its regulators on Bayer’s proposed C$80 billion merger with chemical and seed firm Monsanto, the company said last Wednesday in a release.

BASF has already done a 5.9 billion-euro (C$9.35 billion) deal with Bayer for a number of Bayer’s Crop Science businesses, including its worldwide glufosinate-ammonium business and related LibertyLink technology, “essentially all” Bayer’s field crop seed businesses and related research and development capacity.

The seed businesses for sale in that deal — which is conditional on Bayer closing its deal to buy Monsanto — include Bayer’s canola and oilseed rape businesses in North America and Europe, among others.

The European Commission, Bayer noted, recently extended the examination deadline for the Bayer/Monsanto deal until April 5.

Bayer said it’s still “working closely with the authorities worldwide” to close its Monsanto deal in its second quarter of 2018. — AGCanada.com Network

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Expected price declines for other foods, however, will limit the impact on the total grocery bill in the country.

In the mid-year update for Canada’s Food Price Report, researchers at Dalhousie in Halifax forecast meat prices will increase by up to nine per cent on the year, which compares to the December 2016 forecast of a four to six per cent increase for meat.

Overall, food inflation is forecast at three to four per cent by the study, which would mark a slight decline from the three to five per cent increase expected in the earlier report.

The fish, dairy, bakery products and vegetable sectors were all revised lower from the annual report. However, on an individual crop basis, lettuce was singled out as a product seeing price spikes.

The rise in lettuce was reportedly tied to a combination of high demand and weather concerns with California’s crop.

The Dalhousie report compares with the official Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index, which indicates a much more modest rate of food inflation.

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The Public Health Agency of Canada on Wednesday said it’s considering a “possible link” to greens, such as lettuce, spinach, chard, kale or arugula, in 12 cases of E. coli O157:H7 poisoning where the bacteria share a genetic fingerprint.

The cases include nine in Alberta, one each in Ontario and Saskatchewan and one in Newfoundland and Labrador. The illness onset dates in the 12 cases range from March 13 to 31, the agency said.

A specific product hasn’t yet been identified, the agency said, but in the ongoing investigation so far, “exposure to leafy greens has emerged as a possible source of illness.”

If specific products are identified, the agency said, it will inform the public and make sure the products are pulled from sale.

It’s usually suggested leafy greens be eaten raw or lightly cooked to “preserve the nutrients,” the agency said, but because such products are often eaten raw, they can be a source of food poisoning.

Leafy greens have previously been linked to cases of salmonella or E. coli poisoning, and can become contaminated in the field by way of tainted soil or water, animals in the field or the use of “improperly composted” manure as fertilizer, the agency said.

That said, greens can also be contaminated during and after harvest in handling, storage and/or transport, or even in the grocery store or home fridge, or by cross-contamination on kitchen counters and cutting boards with bacteria from raw meat, poultry or seafood.

Rinse, don’t soak

Fresh vegetables and fruits should be washed before anyone eats them, the agency said. Anyone preparing foods should wash their hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds before and after handling leafy greens.

Warm soapy water should be used to clean knives, cutting boards, utensils, hands and any surfaces that have come in contact with food, especially meat and fish, the agency said.

When preparing greens, the agency said, discard outer leaves and wash the greens under fresh, cool running water. Greens should be rinsed until all dirt has been washed away. Such greens should not be soaked in sinks full of water, since they can become contaminated by bacteria in the sink.

Ready-to-eat or pre-washed leafy greens sold in sealed bags don’t need to be washed before eating, the agency said, but those sold in open bags or containers should be washed again beforehand.

There’s no need to use anything other than water to wash leafy greens, the agency said. “Washing them gently with water is as effective as using produce cleansers.” — AGCanada.com Network

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