Tail Wind: Prairie Harvest film reminds us to buy local

Imagine eating your way around Manitoba. On your bike. That's what Steve Langston,Ryan Mitchell, Chris Mitchell, and Guillaume Borgstrom did in 2012.

They not only cycled the 1200 km journey, they ate only locally sourced food.

Steve Langston is an environmentalist, a filmmaker and an avid cyclist. He's also the author of Canada by Bicycle and Manitoba by Bicycle.

Tail Wind: Prairie Harvest is the name of a film that he and his three friends made during their adventure. It is being screened at the Canadian Sport Film Festival on Friday February 7.

This isn't the first bike tour that Langston has been involved with. He worked on another documentary called Riding North when he biked from Whitehorse to Yellowknife. For that film, it was a 500 km stretch between groceries. So for Tail Wind: Prairie Harvest he thought wouldnt it be cool if we only consumed food grown in Manitoba.'

Langston says he is aware of how lucky he has been - for his education, the chance to travel and other opportunities. So in 2009 he quit his job as an accountant and started doing what he really believed in. He feels it is the best way for him to leave a legacy about the things he is committed to.

Langston hopes that seeing this film will make people realize the importance of buying locally, as it did for him. "I got home in mid September (2012). I went to Safeway and wanted to buy some tomatoes. When I realized they were from the States, I said to myself 'what the hell am I doing?,'" he admitted.

"It is definitely harder in the winter. You can buy pastas and oils locally and some produce but it's not easy. You just need to get a lot of distance out of what you do buy."

This spring Langston will be the guest speaker at the provincial Direct Farm Marketing Conference.

Watch Tail Wind: Prairie Harvest at the Canadian Sport Film Festival on Friday February 7. Before then, Hear Steve Langston on Up to Speed with host Ismaila Alfa at 3 p.m.