“First we eat, then we do everything else” – M.F.K. Fisher
Putting food sovereignty to the test in the far North of Canada – filmmaker Suzanne Crocker, living just 300 km from the Arctic Circle, removes absolutely all grocery store food from her house.
For one year, she feeds her family of five, only food that can be hunted, fished, gathered, grown or raised around Dawson City, Yukon on the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in.
Add three skeptical teenagers, one reluctant husband, no salt, no caffeine, no sugar and -40 temperatures.
Ultimately the story becomes a celebration of community and the surprising bounty of food that even a tiny community in the far North can provide.
First We Eat celebrates the ingenuity, resourcefulness & knowledge of Northern Canadians and our relationship to the land through the food that we hunt, fish, gather, grow and raise in the North.
Whether you are concerned with community (knowing where your food comes from and valuing the land and the people who produce it), sustainability, the nutritional value of your food, a finite oil supply, carbon footprint or food costs and accessibility – food sovereignty is a topic of interest for many of us.
The kitchen was not Suzanne’s ‘natural habitat’ and she was not a master gardener. Far from being an expert, Suzanne considered herself more of a ‘blank page’. By collaborating with northern expertise, traditional knowledge and local producers, Suzanne hoped she would succeed.
Check out “What Can I Do?” to find out what you can do to start eating more locally and support a strong local food ecosystem in your community.
Watch First We Eat. See the trailer here.
Join Our Mailing List
Suzanne's list of available local ingredients:
Meat:
Moose (all parts)
Chicken (all parts)
Boar/pig (all parts)
Caribou (all parts)
Mutton/Wild Sheep
Turkey
Grouse
Rabbit
Fish:
Chum salmon (incl salmon eggs)
Grayling
Burbot
Dairy:
Milk, cream, Yogurt, Butter
Cheese
Ice cream
Eggs
Grains:
Small amount of barley
Small amount of rye
Small amount of Red Fife wheat
Lambsquarter/pigsweed
Fruit:
Low bush cranberries
High bush cranberries
Rosehips
Crowberries
Saskatoon berries
Haskap berries
Black currents
Blueberries (a few)
Apples (a few precious apples!)
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Bunchberry/Dogwood berry (for its pectin)
Golden Berry/Ground Cherry (a few precious berries)
Sour Cherry (a few precious cherries)
Vegetables (can store fresh year round):
Potatoes
Carrots
Cabbage
Kolrabi
Onions
Garlic
Celeriac Root
Rutabaga
Turnip
Beets
Celeriac Root
Spaghetti Squash
Salsify
Vegetables (can store frozen, dried or canned):
Tomatoes
Kale
Spinach
Swiss chard
Broccoli
Romanesco
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Celery
Peas
Pumpkin
Hubbard Squash
Butternut Squash
A few Sweet Peppers
A few Hot Peppers
Cucumbers as fermented pickles
Horseradish
Seasonal only vegetables:
Lettuce
Green onions
Cucumbers - fresh
Radish
Bok Choy
Mustard Greens
Sorrel
Corn (a few precious cobs)
Herbs:
Lovage
Basil
Dill
Mint
Thyme
Oregano
Cilantro/coriander
Marjoram
Rosemary
Parsley
Sage
Savory
Lemon Balm
Chives/Green Onions
Garlic Scapes
Celery Leaf dried (as salt)
Nasturtium pods dried (as pepper)
Wild plants:
Fireweed
Bear Root
Juniper berries
Spruce tips
Labrador tea
Wild Sage
Colts foot
Stinging Nettle
Yarrow
Dandelion
Chickweed
Wild Rose Petals
Mushrooms
Chaga
Strawberry Blite
Plantain
Chamomile
Willow catkins - the sweet ones!
Sweetener:
Birch syrup
Honey
Sugar beet syrup
Sugar beet sugar
Thickener:
Potato starch
Fats:
Butter
Moose lard
Pig fat
Misc:
Kephir
Sourdough starter made from juniper berries
Kombucha scoby