Sustainability

MUSHROOMS:

A Sustainable Food

Often considered a very sustainable food, mushrooms are healthy for you and the environment.

Water Conscious

6.8 litres (1.8 gallons) to grow
0.5 kg (1 lb) of mushrooms

Mushrooms

Other Vegetables¹ 

Meat Alternatives²

Animal Products³

Energy Efficient

Grid mix matters!
Clean grids, like Ontario’s, amp up the sustainability factor.

Small Space,
Big Yield

Mushrooms require a small amount of space to grow

1 acre = 1M lbs. of mushrooms

Low Greenhouse
Gas Emissions

A minimal carbon footprint – 0.5 kg of CO2 per pound (0.5 kg) of food.

Healthy
on the Plate

Mushrooms are a nutrient-dense powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that play a positive role in supporting a healthy lifestyle.

The Ultimate Recyclers

Mushroom growers recycle agricultural byproducts into substrate for mushrooms to grow. After harvest, this substrate is utilized by other farmers or repurposed into potting soil.

Grown Year Round

from Coast-to-Coast

Mushrooms don’t travel far to get to your local grocery store. They are always fresh and in season.

Innovating

for the Future

Mushroom growers are always innovating, looking for ways to utilize renewable energy, biogas, and composting alternatives

Support

Sustainable
Agriculture

Choose Canadian Mushrooms!

Feeding the Future

One Sustainable Mushroom at a Time

  1. The average gallons of water used per pound of tomatoes and broccoli.
  2. The average gallons of water used per pound of tofu, lentils, nuts, and dry beans.
  3. The average gallons of water used per pound of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs.

HOW

Mushrooms Grow

From start to finish, the average mushroom growing cycle lasts 6-8 weeks. During that time, mushrooms go through a fascinating process before they make their way to your local grocery store. Take a look at what goes into producing these fabulous fungi.

    Step 1

    Farmers prepare the substrate in which the mushrooms will grow. Organic materials such as straw, peat moss, stable bedding, corn cobs, soybean meal, and gypsum are pasteurized and become the substrate mushrooms need to begin their growing cycle.

    Step 2

    Mushroom spawn (the “seeds” for growing mushrooms) is purchased from a commercial lab and then mixed into the substrate.

    Step 3

    Growers transport the spawn and substrate blend into trays in their environmentally-controlled growing rooms.

    Step 4

    A layer of peat moss, or casing, is spread over the mushroom trays to serve as a reservoir for moisture.

    Step 5

    The mushrooms begin pinning, or poking through the casing, as they grow.

    Step 6

    Between days 15-35, the mushrooms are assessed and harvested by hand to avoid bruises and scratches.

TOUR A Mushroom Farm

We’ve teamed up with Farm and Food Care to give you a 360° virtual tour of a Canadian mushroom farm. Now you can see mushrooms growing in action!

Using 360 cameras and virtual reality technology, FarmFood360° gives Canadians the chance to tour real, working farms and food processing plants, all without putting on boots or biosecurity clothing.

Learn More

Mushrooms:

Good for the Planet,
Good on Your Plate

Mushrooms are an environmentally-friendly nutrient-dense powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Learn More