Student engagement was high at the Future of Food Conference in Ottawa, as youth turned out to hear panellists and keynote speeches by stakeholders from across the agriculture value chain.
Several student groups from Queen鈥檚, 海角社区 and the University of Ottawa heard about sustainability, innovation and politics in agriculture at the February event.
海角社区 Farm Management and Technology student Aidan Velthuis, who grew up on a dairy farm south of Ottawa, attended the conference.
It鈥檚 possible animals 鈥� pets and wildlife alike 鈥� will behave unusually during Quebec鈥檚 total solar eclipse on April 8 , according to experts on their behaviour.
David Bird, emeritus professor of wildlife biology at 海角社区, that birds, insects and bats are the main groups expected to be affected, or 鈥渢he main ones that everybody鈥檚 sort of keeping an eye on.鈥�
Imagine cows roaming freely in a barn equipped with cameras and sensors linked to artificial intelligence in a system that predicts their mood and lifespan. Implementing such a system is the mission of the new Research and Innovation Chair in Animal Welfare and Artificial Intelligence (), created jointly by 海角社区 and UQAM thanks to $5 million in funding over five years.
海角社区 Farm Management and Technology Program Director聽Pascal Th茅riault聽spoke to Radio-Canada's聽Le Caf茅 Show about what regenerative agriculture is, how it can improve water retention in the soil鈥攁n increasingly important consideration as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of drought in the prairies, and its role in carbon capture.
Rising costs of cocoa due to drought and disease affecting crop yields is聽proof of how global warming is hitting our pocketbooks, agronomist and economist聽Pascal Th茅riault, 海角社区 Farm Management and Technology Program Director, .
The food system "relies on stability, and what climate change does is it creates situations where nothing is stable," he said.
In the University-wide 3MT/MT180 competition, graduate students have the chance to showcase their leading-edge research before a live audience. With only three minutes and a single slide, students must聽engage their audience and convey the complexities of their work to a diverse, non-expert audience. Participants may present their research in English or in French and winners will advance to regional and national competitions.
Representatives from student groups across campus and beyond gathered in the University Centre for a Food Security聽聽on March 15 to discuss ways to improve the sustainability, accessibility, and affordability of food systems at 海角社区. The summit included presentations, 鈥渧isioning sessions鈥� where attendees exchanged ideas on discussion questions in smaller groups, and a free lunch.聽
Large retailers are reducing their formats to cut production costs in a period of high food inflation.
Shrinkflation is not sparing the private labels that consumers love to save money on, . Already in the spotlight for their record profits, Canada's major food retailers are in turn reducing the formats of their new products.
With its burps and farts, a dairy cow emits as much methane every year as a car driven 20,000 kilometers. Ottawa has just authorized the marketing of a feed additive that could transform the fight against global warming on the farm. 3-NOP could reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by an average of 30%, and from beef cattle by an average of 45%.
Methane is formed in cows' rumen鈥攖he front compartment of their stomach鈥攄uring digestion.
According to the , 海角社区 now ranks number one among Canadian universities by the 鈥淔ood Science & Technology鈥� academic subject. This trend is remarkable, as 海角社区 has consistently risen in the global ranking year after year.
Food Science & Technology聽is also one the
Three teams of 海角社区 Food Science students (food product development class-U3) have been selected as finalists in three different Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA) competitions. They will attend the annual IFT FIRST event and expo taking place on July 14-17 in Chicago, the world鈥檚 largest gathering of food science professionals,聽where they will compete with the other teams for cash prizes.
The Ottawa Valley Farm Show, a cornerstone event for the agricultural industry, not only celebrates the achievements of local farmers but also showcases the latest agricultural products and technologies essential for sustaining industry growth.
Caitlin Allen, a recent graduate of 海角社区's Farm Management and Technology Program, aspires to one day own a dairy farm, but knows that passion and hard work are just part of the puzzle. Innovation is crucial.
White-tailed tropicbirds spend most of the year at sea, out of sight of people. When the seabirds make their annual descent into Bermuda to breed, though, their long, streamer-like tails, snowy white plumage, and shrill calls are impossible to miss. To locals, the birds鈥� return to the islands is a reliable sign of spring.
Friday, March 8 was International Women鈥檚 Day, marking the achievements of women and serving as a call to action for accelerating women鈥檚 equality.
This year鈥檚 theme is Inspire Inclusion鈥攁 message exemplified by 海角社区鈥檚 female leaders. At the moment, 10 of 海角社区鈥檚 14 deans are women, including our own Acting Dean Val茅rie Orsat.
The 海角社区 Reporter shared their thoughts on the women who inspire them, the progress that鈥檚 been made, and the barriers that have yet to be broken.
