MAN LAND

Not that I mind the testosterone ... actually it's quite life-giving...but the Ontario Food Terminal is far more than a bunch of guys selling produce. It's the largest fresh produce distribution centre in Canada. In 2009, the team there, led by a government appointed board and managed on a day to day basis by a mere 38 people, handled 960,958 TONS of fresh fruit and veggies. The OFT's cold storage facility @ 80,00 square feet is the largest on the continent.

Glimpsing it from the QEW in Toronto's west end, it's easily identifiable as a parking lot for trucks...or so it seems. It's one of the most energy-charged, competitive places I've ever visited...where a handshake is a contract and where Ontario's growers assemble all year long to supply the restaurants and independent grocery retailers from Thunder Bay to the East Coast.

Winter's tough...the outdoor 550 stall, somewhat sheltered area, can be bitterly cold. But we, as consumers, hum the tune...'Good things grow ow ow ow, In Ontari-O' , these farmers feed us so well - from the sweetest carrots (note the new, very wise, regional designation on this image) to celeriac to cucumbers and masses upon masses of fresh flowers.