Locally grown produce and meats are a rarity in the capital city region. Helsinki’s last meat processing plant closed its doors in 1992. Vegetables in Helsinki’s downtown supermarkets can come from hundreds of kilometres away in Kajaani, eastern Finland, according to distributors.
Dishing up Urban Rabbit?
Veijo Votki, a meat wholesaler in Helsinki, says his beef and pork products are trucked in from far away. He says he would like to bring in local meat, but he says that the volumes available are just too low.
“The closest thing to livestock in Helsinki is the urban rabbit,” says Votki.
Domestic beef production has sunk to levels last seen in the 1960s. In recent years beef imports have totalled some ten million kilograms.
Brazilian beef was in high demand in Finland until the EU slapped a temporary ban on it because of foot-and-mouth disease worries. Brazilian beef is now once again flowing back into Europe following a lifting of the imports embargo.
For the time being, farmers’ markets are the best place to buy products directly from nearby farms.