A Calgary chef is using his YouTube channel to encourage consumers to buy local. Mike Foss’ YouTube channel is called Chef2K, and the videos are produced and directed by his lifelong friend Farid Hamdan, In them, the pair visit southern Alberta farms and ranches to explore everything from how domestic animals are raised to how greenhouses operate. They say that though many consumers have heard the phrase “buy local,” they may not understand the importance of the statement and why it helps. “Why do I want to buy a local? Because look how hard these guys are working to get food to us,” said Hamdan. “These guys work so hard 24/7 to make sure these animals are raised right and fed right.” Foss says the channel originally started out as more of a cooking show featuring family recipes, but soon turned into a way to shine a light on local producers. “Just to see the struggles that they have to go through to put food on our tables,” he said. “It just became a passion project for us, and we’ve been out and about trying to get in every farm that we can, to see their side of the story and let them start to write their story.” Channel viewership fluctuates, but Foss says it’s been as high as 40,000 per video. “We really think it’s important to start utilizing Canada and Canadians for this, as opposed to shipping stuff from other countries,” said Hamdan. “So many people are reaching out and saying, Thank you.’ Farmers are reaching out, their kids are reaching out saying, ‘Thank you for shining a light on this, this is so important to us.’” Foss says because shipping food to Canada by air or sea contributes to global warming, buying local is a good way to reduce the carbon footprint. “We don’t have to risk any of that stuff if we’re feeding ourselves from our land,” he said. “Living in Alberta, we’re on some of the best farmland there is; we can sustain ourselves, we just have to teach ourselves how to do so.” The newest episode is at Brant Lake Wagyu, near Diamond Valley, Alta. Wagyu is a Japanese cow breed similar to an Angus, but has much more marbled meat. The farm sells its meat to more than 200 restaurants across Canada. “Every farm is different, every operation is different,” said farm operator Brandon Ball. “People need to see the work that we put into this, the hours, the dedication, the stuff that we have to fight through every year.” Hamdan says he and Foss are financing the production out of their own pockets and will continue to do so in an effort to encourage as many consumers as possible to buy local. “We want to be the face of Alberta beef and agriculture,” he said. “We really do, Mike is a perfect candidate for it, he has a huge heart, he really believes in this message just like me and together as a team, we want to really, really be the face of this.”
