Montreal, May 11, 2022 – Montreal’s public markets, in partnership with Quebec’s dairy farmers (Les Producteurs de lait du Québec – PLQ), invite you to the second edition of LAIT’vénement bio, a special organic dairy event at Jean-Talon Market over the Fête des Patriotes long weekend this May 21, 22 and 23. The event will provide a unique opportunity to meet some of Quebec’s certified organic dairy farmers to learn more about and, of course, sample some of their products through our merchants’ special offers. Like last year, nearly 4,000 bags of compost made from manure from organic dairy farms will be given away to amateur gardeners. On-site activities will include a trivia game about organic dairy products with the chance to win a tour of an organic farm and a basket of organic products with an approximate value of $1,000. 

The merchants of Jean-Talon Market invite the public to discover organic dairy products with several special offers during the weekend event: 

• Marché des saveurs will apply a 10% discount on selected organic dairy products.
• Qui lait cru!?! will offer 10 to 15% off selected organic dairy products.
• Première Moisson will offer a combo of a large organic café latte and cream puffs with organic cream and fruit and an organic cheddar focaccia, both for $4.
• Brûlerie Aux 4 vents will serve grilled cheese sandwiches made with local organic Swiss cheese for the special price of $1.50, as well as a large organic latte for $2.75 and an organic iced latte for $4.

Exacting standards

To obtain organic certification, farmers must use only natural fertilizers for their cow pastures. Since the cows eat organic, they produce organic milk and manure. Thanks to this cycle, coupled with exacting standards that take at least three years to implement, organic dairy farmers make a sustainable contribution to the health of our soils and ecosystems. 

Some 53% of Canada’s organic farms are in Quebec, accounting for 42% of national production. There are three major categories of organic certification: 

• Organic farming: a sustainable type of farming based on 100% natural fertilizers 
• Organic animal husbandry: free-range cows, pastured when the weather permits, fed exclusively certified-organic feeds
• Organic processing: lastly, processed products made with organic ingredients must contain no artificial colours or flavours 

Complete event details can be found on Jean-Talon Market’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/248526183727575.

The event is part of a wider communication campaign by the PLQ for its organic section, aimed at educating the public about the organic dairy farming process. Lait’vénement bio will be held in four cities in Quebec this summer.

About the Producteurs de lait du Québec

Les Producteurs de lait du Québec, affiliated with the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), represents 4,643 dairy farms that produce some 3.46 billion litres of milk each year, earning farmers a total of more than $2.86 billion. 

About the Corporation de gestion des Marchés publics de Montréal 

The Corporation de gestion des Marchés publics de Montréal is a social economy enterprise responsible for the planning, development and operation of Montreal’s public markets. Its mission is to improve access to fresh food through a network of public markets that brings Montrealers closer to local farmers and agri-food businesses. Since 1993, it has been mandated by the Ville de Montréal to manage the Atwater, Jean-Talon and Maisonneuve markets, six Neighbourhood markets and three Solidarity markets. It is a non-profit organization governed by a board of directors composed of five merchants and five residents of the Montreal urban agglomeration. Its membership includes nearly 200 merchants active at the public markets. The Corporation’s network of public markets is frequented by more than three quarters of Montrealers, with more than 3 million visits annually.