Solutions to Supply Chain Challenges

May 17, 2024

Solutions to Supply Chain Challenges

Social media during the pandemic broadcast countless images of empty grocery store shelves, often fuelling panic buying among shoppers. But in reality, according to Professor of Food and Resource Economics Dr. James Vercammen, supply systems held up well throughout this uniquely demanding time. “Similar to previous crises, our local and global food supply chain demonstrated a high degree of resilience during the COVID pandemic through a rapid redeployment of available labour and repositioning of available food stocks.”

But that’s not a cause for complacency, adds Dr. Vercammen, a joint appointment between LFS and the Sauder School of Business who teaches highly insightful classes on Managerial Economics and the Strategic Economic Analysis of AgriFood Markets. His ongoing research work also includes a rigorous statistical analysis of prices, informing a deep-level understanding of cost transmission and its effects on consumers.

While supply chains have been adept at weathering temporary shocks, says Dr. Vercammen, costs within those systems have surged in recent years. And that has triggered price rises and a period of sustained inflation, directly impacting consumers’ ability to access affordable food. “Immediately after COVID, costs at every level of production—from labour to ingredients to transportation—began rising. And these costs are currently being routinely passed on to consumers through higher prices,” he says.

As supply chains struggle to find ways to absorb their increasing costs, there are also additional—and potentially far more stressful––pressures waiting in the wings. “Climate change is the biggest future challenge for supply systems. And at this stage,
we’re only just starting to understand how it could impact our food chains,” says Dr. Vercammen, who was raised on a Saskatchewan grain and cattle farm and is a past-president of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.

While some experts suggest bolstering local supply chains could be the answer to future woes, Dr. Vercammen believes the far more complex global system is likely better positioned to maintain food access in times of stress. And he expects increasing innovation to become a key factor in the efficacy of these systems. “Big data and artificial intelligence will play much bigger roles in food production, enabling food to be produced at far more optimal levels. While some view these technologies as scary, I believe we need to do whatever it takes to produce enough food.”

We’re fortunate in B.C., adds Dr. Vercammen, that we have resilient local food systems as well as access to strong regional and global supply chains. But there is always room for improvement. “Every time there’s a crisis—avian flu or crop failures in California, for example—we gain more knowledge about how to manage and improve supply chains. And I know that farmers and producers are working hard to adapt and innovate. In terms of resiliency, I’m concerned about the challenges that lie ahead but I also remain optimistic.”

Interested in Food and Resource Economics (FRE) research? Check out the website here!

Tagged with: 2024, Food and Resource Economics

New Faculty Profile: Dr. Michael Zulyniak

May 17, 2024

New Faculty Profile: Dr. Michael Zulyniak

Dr. Michael Zulyniak is the newest faculty member to join the Human Nutrition group as Associate Professor. His research is focused on how diet, metabolism and genetics integrate to affect health and disease risk across populations. At UBC, he will work with families at all stages of pregnancy to tease apart how changes in lifestyle can counter unavoidable biological risks, and improve the overall health of parents and their offspring.

Dr. Zulyniak’s academic history began at the University of Saskatchewan with an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology. His interest in the molecular responses to exercise and health benefits took him to the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and then to a PhD at the University of Guelph to study the effects of nutrition on metabolic pathways linked to diabetes. It was at Guelph that he first noticed that certain nutrients associate with metabolic health differently between ethnic groups.

During his postdoctoral fellowship at McMaster University, Dr. Zulyniak studied how a mother’s risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy (i.e., gestational diabetes) could affect their offspring’s health at birth and in later life. The proportion of people with gestational diabetes within certain ethnic groups (e.g., South Asian, Saudi Arabian) can be twice as high, compared to white Europeans.

These outcomes are driven by a mix of genetic, environmental, and cultural factors, which are difficult to analyze due to differing
amounts of existing data for ethnic minority groups. Dr. Zulyniak joins us after seven years at the University of Leeds where his work confirms that differences in metabolism—partly driven by unique genetic features—account for some of the disparity in gestational diabetes risk between ethnic groups.

In addition, prevailing diet recommendations might not be amenable for everyone, due to factors like culture, family dynamics, or affordability—which were rarely considered in the past. A portion of Dr. Zulyniak’s work looks at barriers faced by people, and facilitates new health strategies that appreciate their fundamental lifestyle.

He hopes his research can lead to a deeper understanding of the biological systems that mediate disease risk within diverse populations, inform national and global strategies towards equitable health, and reduce the disease risk disparity between
population groups.

“UBC is perfectly suited to lead this area of research with a collaborative, multi-ethnic, and culturally sensitive research community,” Dr. Zulyniak says. “Here, we can be on the cutting edge of appreciating and harnessing the uniqueness of different groups to improve research and health.”

Tagged with: 2024, Faculty, Food Nutrition and Health

Studying Pollinators on the Frontlines of Resiliency

May 17, 2024

Studying Pollinators on the Frontlines of Resiliency

For Associate Professor Risa Sargent, lead researcher in the Plant Pollinator and Global Change Lab (PPGC), many of the world’s smallest and most vulnerable critters are on the frontlines of some of our biggest and most pressing resiliency challenges. But that doesn’t mean we’re doing enough to understand their complex roles or foster the favourable conditions for them to thrive.

“Agricultural resiliency comes from having stability in our pollinator populations,” says Dr. Sargent. “Challenges like climate change, for example, clearly cause unpredictability for food producers—by diversifying our agro-ecosystems we will increase their resiliency, ensuring a sustainable food system in a rapidly changing world.”

Climate change isn’t the only threat to agriculture, of course. Dr. Sargent’s PPGC research team starts from a necessarily broad understanding of resiliency that focuses on the major threats to pollinators, ranging from habitat loss to the arrival of invasive species. At the same time as seeking to understand the nature of these stresses, the lab also aims to discover potential solutions.

One recent project from PPGC doctoral student Jens Ulrich scrutinized the value of urban pollinator initiatives. These programs have been trialed in cities including Vancouver where several public parks were recently seeded with insect-friendly meadows. Ulrich’s study revealed that while the plants typically grown in these plots did not noticeably increase the diversity of pollinating insects, the native plants near the meadows—such as salmonberry and Oregon grape—were excellent attractors for a broad array of beneficial insects.

Reflecting the crucial importance of insects, the PPGC team isn’t the only LFS lab focusing on their vital roles. Spearheaded by Associate Professor Juli Carrillo, the Plant-Insect Ecology and Evolution Lab (PIEE) takes an ecological theory approach to investigating the value of insect biodiversity—in particular, the insect communities that live alongside agricultural ecosystems.

In one recent PIEE project, researcher Matt Tsuruda looked at how increased agricultural intensification and a resulting reduction in natural habitats can drive declines in local beneficial insect diversity. Tsuruda showed that by restoring habitats such as hedgerows and grasslands near agricultural fields we can support a larger and more diverse population of beneficial insects—including those that help keep pest populations at bay.

Working to understand the conditions insects actually need in order to thrive shapes much of the research conducted by Dr. Sargent, Dr. Carrillo and their teams. But one of the challenges, says Dr. Sargent, has been that much of the available deep-level data on insects often has critical gaps. “Over the years, people have been less likely to collect data on insects generally so although there are museum collections and citizen science records, we don’t have a lot of high quality, longitudinal survey data to draw on.”

Despite this, she adds, many of the biggest stresses on pollinator populations are well known. These include the use of newer pesticides in agriculture that can cause insect death or behavioural changes that impact pollinator health. The effects of these challenges are not shared equally across all species, she notes, suggesting that maximizing biodiversity can help mitigate the impact of declines. “Some wild bees are clearly in decline while others are doing better,” says Dr. Sargent. “It’s not clear whether all pollinator populations are declining—I would describe it as a fuzzy picture with lots of concern.”

In spite of the knowledge gaps, there is much that agriculture can do to support the wild pollinator populations it relies on. But, adds Dr. Sargent, we need to do more to encourage and help farmers to add the kind of amenable habitats to their properties that encourage beneficial insect diversity. “If we want secure, environmentally friendly diversified food systems, farmers need to be supported financially and government, researchers and agriculture need to work together much more effectively.”

Clearly, she adds, the time for new approaches is now. “In B.C., we’re just starting to recognize that climate changes and other environmental challenges are not temporary and that we need to address these issues urgently. But I’m an optimist at heart and there are lots of reasons for hope. The natural world is a wealth of inspiration and my students’ commitment to studying and conserving biodiversity brings me much hope for the future.”

Tagged with: 2024, Applied Biology

Digging Deep on Resiliency Challenges

May 17, 2024

Digging Deep on Resiliency Challenges

Assistant Professor Dr. Jean-Thomas Cornelis spends a lot of time getting his hands dirty. But when your research focuses on understanding the intricate micro-scale soil processes that underpin macrosized ecosystems, grubby fingernails at the end of the day are a standard occupational hazard.

The principal investigator in the SoilRes3 Lab—the ‘3’ refers to soil Resistance, Resilience and Restoration—Dr. Cornelis’s work is deeply rooted in key issues of resiliency. “An ecosystem that is balanced in all its terms is a critical aim—and resiliency is the capacity to restore and maintain that balance,” asserts the Belgium-born pedologist and biogeochemist who founded his lab in
2021.

Since launching, his team has been actively engaged in three main areas of research: soil-plant feedbacks; energy and nutrient cycling; and land-people relationships. The lab’s process-based approach has included exploring the sensitivity to climate change of soil processes controlling nutrient cycles, as well as the responses of soils and ecosystems to ancestral Indigenous land stewardship.

The human factor is a key feature in Dr. Cornelis’s work, incorporating an invaluable understanding of the cultural context of soil usage—in particular, the relationships between people and the land they work on. “Since the green revolution, soil has traditionally been regarded like a kind of black box that simply delivers our food supply,” he says. “But by researching soil, land and people together, we are trying to understand processes in a deeper and more dynamic way.”

Exemplifying that approach, the lab has conducted an array of hands-on field studies in different parts of the world, uncovering diverse land-people approaches from Europe to Africa and beyond. A fascinating recent project in Burkina Faso, for example, looked at biochar as a tool for nutrient recycling, collaborating with local smallholders to test the value of reusing discarded cotton stalks in crop rotation systems.

In fact, collaboration has been an enduring quality of Dr. Cornelis’s work and he has frequently partnered with researchers beyond his own lab—from functional ecologists to plant physiologists and more. “Increasing our collaboration deepens our approaches to issues of resiliency,” he says, adding that his latest multidisciplinary research proposal aims to test the idea that putting crops under slight nutrient limitation could maximize the ecological benefits associated with more resilient crops while also contributing to global decarbonization.

Tagged with: 2024, Indigenous, Soil Science

Sowing the Seeds for Resilient Production Systems

May 17, 2024

Sowing the Seeds for Resilient Production Systems

Resiliency has been a cornerstone of Dr. Andrew Riseman’s work for more than two decades. But while the Associate Professor of Applied Biology and Plant Breeding takes a lengthy view of the research topics he tackles at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm (CSFS), many of the real world challenges in his field are arising more often and becoming more dramatic.

“As a plant breeder, I work with long research horizons (e.g., 10-15 years to develop a new cultivar) while also trying to predict what the future weather will be,” says Dr. Riseman. “But we know that the environment is changing more quickly than anticipated and extreme weather events are occurring more frequently than ever. So, it’s critical to both effectively and efficiently develop resilient cultivars that can withstand any stressful condition they may encounter.”

Defining resiliency as “the ability of plants to maintain function despite adverse conditions,” Dr. Riseman’s research in recent years has investigated how plant genetics informs the design of production systems and how useful traits in these systems can be combined with superior germplasm to create beneficially optimized systems—an approach that places plant breeding at the heart of agricultural resiliency solutions.

But while optimizing the best traits of cash crop plants is a key focus for many researchers, Dr. Riseman notes that different plant breeders take different approaches to key issues such as drought or flooding. “My work has focused on creating genetically diverse cultivars that perform well across different environments/stressors, rather than having a single genotype cultivar that is bred for optimum conditions,” he says. “This solution means creating a single cultivar that is able to resist different types of stress.”

Dr. Riseman’s latest research aims to turn the spotlight on understanding and redesigning intensive multi-trophic production systems—envisaging a system that reunites plant and animal production. Inspired by the pioneering work of veteran US farmer and environmental campaigner Wendell Berry, Dr. Riseman believes the historic separation of plant and animal production systems has in fact created far more resiliency problems than solutions for agriculture.

“I want to work on a system that reintegrates plant and animal production,” he says. “And that means breeding cultivars that are specific for a strong and robust plant-animal system.” As ever, though, there are no timeline shortcuts to creating new solutions using plant breeding techniques and Dr. Riseman’s projects will continue to take a necessarily long-term approach. “There is no silver bullet answer to resiliency challenges, of course, but I continue to remain optimistic.”

Tagged with: 2024, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Plant Science

Building Resilience: The UBC Farm’s Strategic Plan to Transform Food Systems

May 17, 2024

Building Resilience: The UBC Farm’s Strategic Plan to Transform Food Systems

In the face of multiple crises converging on the way we grow, distribute and eat food, the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS) at the UBC Farm is responding with a new plan to facilitate change. Launched in February, this new five-year strategic plan outlines a comprehensive response to develop solutions and resilience to the pressing challenges facing our food systems.

“Our food systems are under unprecedented strain,” says Dr. Sean Smukler, Director of the CSFS at the UBC Farm and Associate Professor, Chair of Agriculture and Environment in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. “A rapidly changing climate and fragile supply chains threaten equitable access to food, while our current agricultural practices degrade our environment. Effective solutions will require transforming the way we think about and approach these problems. Our new strategic plan is designed to help us do this to enhance our resilience and address these crises head-on.”

The new plan seeks to focus impact in four key areas: food security, climate, biodiversity, and decolonization.

“We are just at the beginning of the path of decolonization,” says Clare Cullen, CSFS at UBC Farm Operations Director. “We
recognize that we have a lot of work to do,” she says, pointing out that the CSFS has committed to implementing UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan and will be integrating Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity into every facet of their work—
from research and teaching to community programs.

Dr. Smukler adds that the CSFS’s new strategic plan is not only a roadmap but also a call to action. “We cannot reach our
ambitious goals alone,” he says. “We invite others to join us. The role of the CSFS is to facilitate and focus collaboration.
Together, we can make a greater impact.”

The plan is the culmination of a year of consultation and feedback, and identifies five key strategic areas aimed at driving
transformative change.

Find out more information at the UBC Farm site.

Tagged with: 2024, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, UBC Farm

Drought Solutions for Producers Start Small

May 17, 2024

Drought Solutions for Producers Start Small

Understanding and addressing agriculture’s biggest climate change challenges starts at the microscopic level for plant physiologist Dr. Thorsten Knipfer. This pioneering researcher and his team in the Plant-Water Relations Lab are working to decipher—from a cellular to a whole plant basis—the complex ways woody perennials react to drought caused by limited soil water availability.

The aim is to use these insights to create far more efficient irrigation approaches for farmers, helping producers to secure their harvest while summers become hotter and drier. These new strategies, says Dr. Knipfer, require a fundamental knowledge of how a crop plant actually operates.

“It’s like a mechanic trying to fix a car,” he says. “You need to know how the engine works before you can start working on any solutions.”

Focusing their recent research on hazelnut crops, the team is collaborating with B.C. growers to establish irrigation baselines—as well as how far crops can be pushed from these baselines and yet still fulfill vital functions such as photosynthesis, xylem transportation and storage. “It’s about developing irrigation management strategies that are built on the actual needs of the crop,” says Dr. Knipfer.

“We already know that effective irrigation management needs to be about much more than just adding a bunch of water.”

Effective crop monitoring and physiological measurements are the cornerstone of this kind of research, says Dr. Knipfer, whose team deploys both traditional and cutting-edge tools. That means using pressure chambers and leaf gas exchange systems as well as advanced imaging systems. “We’ve been collaborating with Saskatoon’s Canadian Light Source. Their synchrotron is teaching us a lot about how a plant’s water transport system is impacted during severe drought.”

It’s this integrated view of climate change challenges on crops that Dr. Knipfer says is essential to building any new optimized management approaches. “We’re researching agricultural plant processes at the cellular level and we’re then extrapolating these findings to the field scale. It’s a way of tackling big picture problems by digging deep down to the smallest level.”

Tagged with: 2024, Plant Science

Dean’s Message

May 17, 2024

Dean’s Message

At home and around the world, we are facing climate extremes. We are shattering records like never before.

One striking example is last year’s wildfire season. Across Canada ongoing drought and high temperatures fuelled a record wildfire season that torched 16.5 million hectares of land. That is six times more than in a normal year, where an average of 2.5 million hectares of land would be impacted by wildfires, according to Natural Resources Canada.

What does this mean for our agricultural producers and our food system?

I know there is not a quick, go-to solution. However, I am optimistic because I have confidence in our ability in LFS to be innovative and to apply new solutions to today’s problems.

In this issue, we’ve highlighted just some of our researchers who are investigating ways to build a more resilient food system—from new soil management methods, to more drought-resistant plants, to improved pollinator habitats, and more.

In addition, I want to welcome two new researchers to UBC who bring fresh perspectives on improving human nutrition and
sustainable food production.

As this will be my last issue of ReachOut magazine as Dean, it’s been a privilege working with my wonderful colleagues in LFS who are dedicated to advancing research and supporting students. Whenever I meet students and alumni I’m always impressed when I learn about their journey and accomplishments. Being part of the UBC community for the last 10 years has been amazing and I will always be fond of my time here.

Cheers,

Rickey Yada,
Dean, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Tagged with: 2024, Staff

Celebrating the Class of 2024!

May 13, 2024

Celebrating the Class of 2024!

May 13, 2024 – Way to go Class of 2024 — you’ve made it to the end of your undergraduate journey! To celebrate this year’s graduating class, we spoke to a few of our outstanding students. We look forward to keeping up with these students and all they accomplish – this is only the beginning of their next adventure!

Chloe Chambers – BSc in Applied Animal Biology

How did you hear about LFS at UBC?

While I was researching programs that aligned with my interests, I learned that UBC’s Applied Animal Biology Program wasn’t in Science, but in the Faculty of LFS, which I hadn’t heard of before. But I’m so glad I chose the program. Even though more than half of my courses were non-LFS, I know that I benefited from being in a smaller faculty. You get to know your peers, professors, and student services staff better, which gives you a great system of support and tons of opportunities.

William Fang – BSc in Food and Resource Economics

How did you hear about LFS at UBC?

I heard about LFS when I was seeking advice from some high school alumni and advisors. I was trying to immerse myself in an interdisciplinary environment, and they suggested that LFS could be a good fit. I discovered the Food and Resource Economics major, and I loved the way it combines science, business, economics, data analysis, and more, so I ended up there.

Abeera Irfan – BSc in Food, Nutrition and Health (Dietetics)

Do you recommend students get involved in extra-curriculars? What did you do outside of the classroom?

Within LFS, I was part of UBC Nutrikids and the Dietetic Student Community club, I took a leadership position as the president last year for the latter which really challenged my skills and allowed me to improve as both a leader, and a future dietitian. I chose to also get involved as an Imagine Day Orientation Leader and help out with prospective student events whenever I was able! I also spent years in different FNH labs as a research assistant and was also a TA for a few courses.

Jonanda Kisingiri – BSc in Global Resource Systems

How did you hear about LFS at UBC?

I discovered LFS the same day I discovered UBC — while I was still in Year 11 (10th grade). A representative from UBC came to my school in Uganda and handed out UBC brochures with a complete list of all the degrees offered by each UBC faculty. I was amazed and overwhelmed. Knowing I wanted to study something related to food, I was naturally drawn to the section that read “Faculty of Land and Food Systems.” In all my time of looking into universities (up until that point and even thereafter), I hadn’t encountered a single university with such a diverse selection of food-oriented degrees at the undergraduate level. I knew UBC was my top choice from then on.

Clover Lee – BSc in Food, Nutrition and Health

Do you recommend students get involved in extra-curriculars? What did you do outside of the classroom?

Definitely! Extracurricular involvements were the highlight of my undergraduate. Not only did I meet lifelong friends and mentors through the LFS Undergraduate Society (LFS|US), research, and assistant teaching, extracurriculars supported my development and application of a range of skills, professionally and interpersonally. I value the community-building and leadership skills I acquired in the LFS|US, quantitative research and lab competency at the UBC Wine Research Centre (through the Work Learn Program), and learning facilitation as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant. All that I tangibly (un)learned would not be possible without the incredible and diverse extracurricular opportunities in the Faculty of LFS.

Hirari Sato – BSc in Global Resource Systems

What challenges did you encounter while a student and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenge was managing my finances. I’m an international student, so tuition was already expensive, and on top of that, Vancouverliving expenses were a lot more than I expected. During university, I had to get 3 part time jobs while studying full-time. Sprouts and Agora REALLY helped me throughout my entire UBC life. They genuinely fed me throughout university, since their food is extremely affordable, and when short on cash, they have free meal coupons. Their mission of fighting food insecurity has helped me and a lot of the students I know. GO SUPPORT THEM!

Judith Sofiana – BSc in Food and Resource Economics

What was your favourite class and why?

I found ECON 234 – Wealth and Poverty of Nations extremely fascinating back when I took it with Professor Thorsten. The course had a multidisciplinary approach involving not just economics, but also anthropology, history, agriculture, geography to explain how nations develop and how it plays into historic and present wealth inequality. For example, how agriculture is theorised to be a prerequisite to accounting and then systems of writing – writing systems allow information to be stored, conveyed and delivered across generations and time.

Class of 2024: Jonanda Kisingiri

May 13, 2024

Class of 2024: Jonanda Kisingiri

Jonanda Kisingiri (she/her/hers)

Program: BSc in Global Resource Systems

How did you hear about LFS at UBC?

What challenges did you encounter while a student and how did you overcome them?

My first year was a memorable one because it was the year COVID-19 shut down the whole world and I found myself having to do my entire first year of university online from back home in Uganda. Beginning my classes at 7pm and ending them at midnight was certainly draining. I got connected to the LFS community online so as not to become isolated, which lifted my spirits and reminded me that I wasn’t facing these difficulties on my own. This involved joining the LFS Mentorship Program. I also struggled with motivation during the first 2 years because the classes I was taking were very general in scope — hardly connected with my global health interests. Joining the GRS program and diversifying my electives allowed me to quickly explore classes that were more in line with my career aspirations.

What was your favourite class and why?

I have two! SPPH 410 gave me a practical opportunity to apply my knowledge and practise for a career in global health by writing a proposal and pitching it to my instructor, a class of hundreds of students and a guest. HIST 318 will forever be a favourite of mine too. Dr. Morton is highly intelligent; being very intentional and mindful about the way he taught history. Class discussions were some of the most eye-opening and intellectually stimulating I’d ever had at UBC. It also helped me appreciate the interconnectedness of the past world and how that translates into modern society which is crucial for someone like myself who wants to pursue a career in global health.

Do you recommend students get involved in extra-curriculars? What did you do outside of the classroom?

Without a doubt! Besides it being great for resume building, you gain a lot of transferable skills and get out of your comfort zone, which helps you discover new interests and guides you towards what you want to do after school. I was involved in the LFS Mentorship Program as a mentee and became a mentor with the Centre for Accessibility. I was also a member of the LFS ACE Team and did a directed studies in Uganda, which helped me gain some experience in the real world.

What is the next step for you? Do you have plans post-graduation?

I plan on working now that I’ve spent the last few years of my life as a student. I’d like to gain some experience in the global health and/or food systems space to apply everything I’ve learned and make new connections. I’m open to wherever the best opportunities are (in or out of Vancouver and even Canada). I’ll decide later down the road whether I’ll pursue a masters degree.

Favourite place to eat in Vancouver?

It’s hard to pick one. I’d say probably Jambo Grill, which is an East African and Indian restaurant in Vancouver (one of very few places I can get some tastes from back home) or any fine dining place, really (I’m all about ambiance). I really like the fries at the Brown’s on campus too!

Tagged with: 2024, Global Resource Systems, Undergraduate

Tagged with 2024, Global Resource Systems, Undergraduate
Categories: Uncategorized

Solutions to Supply Chain Challenges