Food not only sustains us, it fuels our senses and adds flavour to our lives. Farmers and producers across this province take great pride in the high-quality and wide variety of goods they provide Nova Scotians.

Many consumers prefer to “buy local” whenever possible but it can be difficult to identify the origin of the food we buy. That’s about to change.

Just five days ago, I joined Brooke Taylor, Minister of Agriculture at the Provincial Exhibition in Bible Hill. There, we unveiled the consumer phase of Select Nova Scotia. Beginning this week, shoppers and diners will be able to identify Nova Scotian products by looking for the Select Nova Scotia logo. You can find it on-line at www.selectnovascotia.ca along with recipes, stores and restaurants that use or sell local ingredients.

The Select Nova Scotia campaign is about more than finding the freshest, highest-quality food for our dinner tables. It’s about changing the way we think about food. It prompts us to ask ourselves, where does the food we buy come from? How far has it traveled? Who produced it and did they do it in an environmentally responsible manner?

These questions deserve answers, especially as the population’s environmental conscience grows. In many cases, the further food must travel from farm to plate, the larger the carbon footprint it leaves on our planet. Government must do its part to shrink that imprint and offer guidance to consumers and farmers who choose to do the same.

Beginning this year, all of Nova Scotia’s health and justice facilities began sourcing more of the food they consume locally: All dairy, 90% of dairy products, 60% of beef, chicken and pork, up to 60% of fresh produce and up to 80% of produce from storage served at these facilities must be local.

Government is also working with the Food Miles Project, a joint venture between the Ecology Action Centre and the NS Federation of Agriculture, on ways to procure more food from Nova Scotia farmers for a variety of government meetings and events. The Food Miles Project launched a three-year study of Nova Scotia’s food supply this month. Current estimates show 8.4 % of Nova Scotians’ diets consist of locally grown food. That’s down from 15 % in the previous decade.

The choice to buy local is not only “green”; it supports family farms and rural economies in Nova Scotia. No one understands better than farmers that their ability to grow the food that sustains us depends on the health of the planet. More and more growers and producers are trying to reduce the impact agriculture can have on the environment by developing Environmental Farm Plans.

The NS Federation of Agriculture along with the NS Agricultural College, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and the NS Department of Agriculture help farmers design individual plans for their farms that address environmental considerations in relation to both water and air quality. So far, more than 1,000 Nova Scotian farmers have voluntarily developed Environmental Farm Plans.

These are all important steps on the way to meeting the targets legislated in Nova Scotia’s Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act. This piece of legislation, proclaimed last spring, will cut greenhouse gas emissions and lower our dependency on non-renewable energy.

It’s already creating a climate that encourages business to go green. Cape Breton Power officially commissioned its Glace Bay Lingan Wind Farm this month. It will generate enough power for up to 6,000 households. Heritage Gas will extend its natural gas pipeline to the Halifax peninsula, thanks to the number of businesses and public buildings that have already agreed to use this cleaner source of energy.

A picture is emerging of Nova Scotia as a leader in the Green Economy. However, as is the case with so many initiatives, the success of the Select Nova Scotia campaign will come from the actions of individuals. Government can point the way but consumers hold the real power in their wallets; a power they can exercise by making the choice to buy local in grocery stores, restaurants and markets across the province at every opportunity.