More label reading if I want to buy Canadian goods

[walkonby]

I would like to say that I am 100% on board with buying everything " Made In Canada " but I know I probably have many things in my stockpile that are not made in Canada and I was unaware that they had even moved the manufacturing to another Country. Are you aware of all the products that are NOT made here but sold here? Would you now change the way you shop to try and support jobs in Canada?


The following was copied from an email sent to me I did not write any of this


A physics teacher in high school once told the students:
That while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't
Slow a train very much, a billion of them would.
With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously
Written by a patriotic Canadian.


Shopping in Lowe's the other day for some
Reason and just for the fun of it I was looking at the
Garden hose attachments. They were all made in China .. The next day I
Was in Home Hardware and just for the fun of it I
Checked the hose attachments there. They were made in Canada !

Start looking...

In our current economic situation, every little
Thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job.

A quote from a consumer: “My grandson
Likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is
Marked made in Mexico now, instead of Smiths Falls , Ontario .
I do not buy it any more”.


My favourite toothpaste, Colgate, is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Wal-Mart. I needed 60W light
Bulbs. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an Off-brand labelled, "Everyday Value". I picked up both types of bulbs
And compared the stats - they were the same except for the price. The
GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing
That surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the

Everyday Value brand was made in – (get ready for this) - Canada at a company in Ontario .
Their Equate Products are also made in Canada , and are very good.


Just to add my own experience on buying Made in Canada , I was looking for
Canned mushrooms that were made in Canada and could never find any, so
I would buy fresh. But recently I found Ravine
Mushrooms - made in Canada with a little red maple leaf
On the can. A little more money but when I opened the can I looked at Mushroomsthat look like real mushrooms, not a mushroom that looks
Like it was cleaned in bleach.

Another product I no longer buy
Is Del Monte or Dole canned fruit.

Del Monte is packaged in Taiwan and Dole is now a product of China .
Why should we pay for their fruit when our growers are left with fruit rotting on the Trees.

E.D. Smith is still made in Canada ...
Buy theirs, at least you will know what is in it
And have some quality control.


By the way, all pickles with the Presidents Choice label
And the No Name yellow label [Superstore] are made in India .. Think about it,Water from the Ganges is used... Yes THAT Ganges , the one that the People use as a toilet.

So throw out the myth that you cannot find
Products you use every day that are made right here.
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when
You shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made In
Canada .

The job you save may be your own or your neighbour's'! (Your children &Grandchildren,also.)

If you accept this challenge, pass it on to others in your address book
So we can all start buying Canadian, one light bulb at a time!

Stop buying from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened two decades ago.)

Let's get with the program. Help our fellow Canadians keep their jobs and create more jobs here in Canada .

If President Obama insists on a 'Made in America ' Policy, which is commendable of him, to
support American workers, we should do likewise.

BUY CANADIAN! Read the labels .














Support Canadian Jobs

[Lynn49]

Oh, Walks.....I don't know how long I spent looking for canned mushrooms until I found the Ravine label!! It's like the heavens opened up and a chorus of angels were singing!!!! Yes, fresh (mostly...but where are they from?!) are best but sometimes you just need them in a hurry....and yes, they looked like real mushrooms!!

I don't buy foods that are labelled "Made in China", or Exported by (some Canadian company)...from...(some other country), and sometimes it's darn hard to tell where the heck they originate! I buy Canadian and in a pinch, US made products, and that's about it. All fresh produce is washed here within an inch of it's life and put into those famous cereal bags...paranoid? Maybe, but better safe than sorry. I won't give up my Colgate, however....it's the only one that contains Triclosan, and although that has its detractors, I think that's why I don't have dental problems.......that, and the fact that I get cleanings done every 3 months...sigh.......

So yes.....vigilant to the Nth degree.....because I've only got one "me"..

[beckie.c]

Interesting post... this is why I love and frequent our local farmers market it pretty much takes all the guessing of 'where this came from' out of my summer grocery shopping. I never through about packaged/canned foods as we don't eat a lot of that stuff but now I'm going to check it out.

I must admit sometimes I find it hard to follow my moral compass on all of my purchases... I do try hard to maintain a balance between buying local, organic, environmentally friendly/lasting quality products and clothing not made in sweatshops with my budget, where I can. As consumers, I think we 'vote' for our future with our $$.

[Natalka]

This is all trickier than it seems - I remember researching this a while back when Marketplace did a show on it.

It's better to look for PRODUCT of Canada rather than MADE in Canada.

Product of Canada:

A food product may use the claim "Product of Canada" when all or virtually all major ingredients, processing, and labour used to make the food product are Canadian. This means that all the significant ingredients in a food product are Canadian in origin and that non-Canadian material is negligible.


The following circumstances would not disqualify a food from making a "Product of Canada" claim:

• Very low levels of ingredients that are not generally produced in Canada, including spices, food additives, vitamins, minerals, flavouring preparations, or grown in Canada such as oranges, cane sugar and coffee. Generally, the percentage referred to as very little or minor is considered to be less than a total of 2 per cent of the product.

Made in Canada - much more complicated

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/lab...92?chap=5#s2c5

The claim "Canadian" is considered to be the same as a "Product of Canada" claim. As such, all or virtually all major ingredients, processing, and labour used to make the food product must be Canadian.

When the claim "100% Canadian" is used on a label, the food or ingredient to which the claim applies must be entirely Canadian rather than "all or virtually all" Canadian.

General info

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/lab.../1393622515592

Sigh!

[cookoo]

Would you give up eating Chapman's ice cream? Canadian, but not "Product of Canada."
http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/politics...of-canada.html

From an economic point of view, international trade is more efficient and more profitable:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/...sics/trade.htm

[Lynn49]

Would you give up eating Chapman's ice cream? Canadian, but not "Product of Canada."
http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/politics...of-canada.html

From an economic point of view, international trade is more efficient and more profitable:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/...sics/trade.htm

...as long as the manufacture of items doesn't involve sweatshops or slave labour (chocolate)...then it's only profitable for a very few....

[cookoo]

Patriotic buying does not come cheap and does not necessarily guarantee higher quality products.
Would you give up seeing Hollywood movies and opt for only Canadian-made films?
Would you give up watching US TV shows and now turn to Canadian TV series?
Would you give up your German or Japanese cars and get a Canadian car?
Would you stop buying German/Japanese electronics and buy ones that are entirely manufactured in Canada?
Would you give up Italian leather for good?

[walkonby]

I think SOME people are adamant about buying Canadian goods, and have the income to afford that choice. Perhaps for them the trade off for varying differences in quality of products is knowing they have done their part in keeping the jobs here.
I am only concerning myself with food products at the moment....baby steps.

[Ciel]

"Processed in Canada" is often seen on food product labels. While I'd like to try to buy Canadian foods and clothing, the reality is that the costs mean I have to do without something else. Footwear-it's imported for me due to fit.

I know that only Canadian cherries are used in ED Smith jams but the other fruits are imported for the other jams/spreads.

Bick's pickles departure from Dunnville, ON has meant pickles from US or relish from India. The Dole fruit issue (company had problem with fruit processing costs in Canada) has been known for a few years.