Seeing demand for unusual meats, Ayr-area farm gets into bison biz

CTV Kitchener: Demand for exotic meats Why are butcher shops and supermarkets stocking everything from elk to kangaroo to bison? Leena Latafat explains.

Canadians are eating more exotic meat.

Statistics show the demand for foods like rabbit, elk and venison rose by about 11 per cent between 2010 and 2015.

Jessica Gerber has noticed that increase firsthand.

At her Oakridge Acres Country Meat store outside Ayr, she’s seen more shoppers asking about everything from wild boar to emu.

But it’s bison that has seen the biggest jump in sales of all – something she credits to naturopaths recommending it to people looking to get more iron or protein in their diet.

Initially, she was able to source bison meat from a farmer in St. Marys.

As that farmer found himself getting more and more demand, Gerber started getting some from a farm on the Bruce Peninsula.

Now, she’s started raising her own bison – 22 of them, with plans to end up with at least 50 in the herd.

“We’re hoping to just continue to expand,” she says.

That dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed by shoppers like Angie Reemeyer, who now heads to Ayr instead of Oakville to get her bison meat.

She says she eats bison about once a week, often in a chili.

“What I like about it is that it’s healthy. It’s got less fat than beef, and it’s breast-fed,” the Brantford resident says.

Mike von Massow, a professor in the University of Guelph’s department of food, agricultural and resource economics, says that while some consumers are trying out exotic meats for themselves, the increase can mostly be chalked up to the restaurant industry.

As restaurants look for ways to differentiate themselves from the rest of the marketplace, he says, they find alternate meats a good method to utilize.

“They are going to things like bison, rabbit, venison, and in extreme cases things like alligator,” he says.

Von Massow says that creates a ripple effect with consumers, who like to try cooking the same meals they’ve enjoyed in restaurants or seen on TV.

With reporting by Emma Dillabough