Michael Abramson has set up his butcher shop in Toronto’s Little Italy to look much like any other, with gleaming knives lining the wall, employees prepping cutlets and someone hand-cranking a sausage stuffer.

There’s one meaty exception. His choice cut isn’t beef, it’s beet. He’s not proffering lamb, but yam.

Mr. Abramson, a 62-year-old...