Sustainability

MUSHROOMS:

A Sustainable Food

Considered one of the most sustainably produced foods, mushrooms are healthy for you and the environment.

Mushroom farmers are great recyclers. They grow their crops on beds of substrate made from composted agricultural by-products, meaning less waste is sent to landfills. After mushrooms are harvested, the spent mushroom substrate, or compost, is recycled into potting soil to grow even more plants for the planet.

Mushrooms are grown indoors, in environmentally controlled buildings where the humidity, temperature, and light are all managed in order to replicate mushrooms’ ideal growing conditions. Farmers can control everything from water usage to electricity, so they only use what’s needed — which studies show isn’t a lot compared to many other foods*. The unique vertical nature of the growing rooms also allows farmers to grow millions of pounds of mushrooms on just a few acres of land.

Canadian mushrooms are grown from coast-to-coast, so they never travel far to get to your local grocery store or supermarket. That means they are always fresh and in season, making them a valuable and reliable food source.

*The Mushroom Sustainability Story: Water, Energy and Climate Environmental Metrics 2017 study, produced by leading sustainability analysis and research firm SureHarvest.

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.