Can we grow veggies designed to combat diabetes? Manitoba researchers hope so

Researchers at the University of Manitoba are working with a northern First Nation to develop vegetables with increased nutritional characteristics that may help combat health conditions like diabetes. But they also have to convince local folks to eat them.

"There's a lot of stigma that we were met with," said Stephanie R. Cook, Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) smart farm operations manager. "People were like, 'Oh … it's artificial, it's fake food.' "

Cook understands this hesitancy, because in her first few months on the job, she was also too scared to eat the produce. Coming from a traditional background, she says she was taught that food comes from the earth, not from a lab.

"It was funny, because the first time I ate it, I was actually surprised at the freshness. You know, normally, coming from the north, you're not used to getting such fresh product unless it's coming from the garden in the summer."

The vertical smart farm was established by the OCN as a pilot project in 2016 to see if they could grow vegetables faster all year round, providing fresher, less expensive produce to the remote northern community about 520 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, where it's difficult to grow vegetables year round and expensive to transport and buy them.

The plants are grown hydroponically in stacked layers, without soil, which means a smaller carbon footprint than traditional farming. Blue, red and green LED lights mimic sunshine. Artificial intelligence controls temperature, moisture, carbon dioxide and nutrient levels. 

When the smart farm was first started, it provided vegetables to OCN families at no cost through food programs at the local health centre, trying to encourage healthier diets. Now, the focus has turned to research. 

OCN has about 4,652 members, about 2,850 of whom live on reserve. Almost half of the adult population on OCN is suffering from type two diabetes, said N. Glen Ross, the executive director of the Opaskwayak Health Authority.

"We were averaging probably about two to three deaths a month based on diabetes-related issues," Ross said.

In an effort to change this, OCN teamed up with Miyoung Suh and her team from the University of Manitoba, and the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine at the St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre. Suh has received several grants to support the smart farm and her research there.

The team has experimented with different growing, harvesting and post-harvest processing conditions and found some made the vegetables more nutritious and possibly better at slowing the progression of diabetes. 

"We are trying to mitigate the prevalence of type 2 diabetes using vegetables as a source," said Ruchira Nandasiri, a University of Manitoba food scientist and postdoctoral fellow in Suh's laboratory. 

The smart farm is currently growing cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts for research purposes only.

As part of their work, the team has discovered ways to manipulate the lights and nutrients to stimulate production of antioxidant compounds in the vegetables that impact obesity, blood glucose control, inflammation, blood pressure and heart function, Nandasiri said.