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 remarkably small 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
MUSHROOMS:
A Sustainable Food
Considered one of the most sustainably produced foods, mushrooms are healthy for you and the environment.
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.
Mushrooms:
Good for the Planet,
Good on Your Plate
Mushrooms are an environmentally-friendly nutrient-dense powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
- The average gallons of water used per pound of tomatoes and broccoli.
- The average gallons of water used per pound of tofu, lentils, nuts, and dry beans.
- The average gallons of water used per pound of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs.
