From Global BC: UBC is helping Cambodians set up fish farms to increase protein in their diets. Linda Aylesworth reports.
Can’t see the video? View it on the Global BC website.
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Three LFS students received their doctorates at the May 22 graduation ceremony. Congratulations to Drs Isabelle Lacroix (Food Science), Jun-Hyung Tak (Plant Science), and Gosia Zobel (Applied Animal Biology).
A copy of their doctoral dissertations are available through UBC’s open-access repository, cIRcle:
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Fish on Farms, an international food security project that helps rural women in Cambodia establish home aquaculture and food gardens, will now help them become entrepreneurs, thanks to more than $1 million in funding from the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund.
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Professor David Fraser is serving as an advisor on the Global Food Ethics Project, a project coordinated by Johns Hopkins University aimed at working through conflicting visions of what it means to feed the world ethically and find a concrete path forward even in the absence of consensus about ethical commitments and values.
Last year, Dr. Fraser took part in a week-long workshop in Italy that culminated in the creation of a full report and a short summary that identifies seven specific projects deemed particularly worthy of investment because of their importance and tractability.
The principal investigators are open to feedback on those projects or suggestions for carrying them out. For more information, please contact David Fraser.
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Congratulations to Jodi Gustafson on receiving a Gates Cambridge Scholarship!
Jodi, an alumna of our Global Resource Systems program, is one of three Canadian students – and the only UBC student – selected among 54 Gates Cambridge Scholars who will begin their postgraduate studies at the University of Cambridge this September. Gates Cambridge Scholarships are prestigious, highly competitive full-cost scholarships awarded to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK.
Jodi will pursue a Master of Philosophy in conservation leadership. While in the Global Resource Systems program, she produced a documentary, Qikiqtaruk- Herschel Island: Yukon’s Vulnerable Arctic Treasure, which highlighted the impacts of climate change on Inuvialuit communities in Canada’s Western Arctic.
She was also recently named one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 for 2015 as listed by The Starfish.
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Congratulations to Food and Resource Economics Masters student and MasterCard Foundation scholar Isaac Jonas, who was selected as a delegate for the Skoll World Forum Young Leaders Initiative at Oxford University in April.
The annual Skoll World Forum focuses on exchanging ideas to create innovative solutions to global social issues through a three day conference featuring debates, presentations and workshops from over 1,000 social entrepreneurs from around the world. LFS’ own Isaac Jonas was one of only ten Skoll-MasterCard Foundation Young Leaders delegates to be selected by the forum to present and help incite social change. His research has focused on the interconnections between development, social entrepreneurship and access to education.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Isaac, is also one of UBC’s MasterCard Foundation Scholars—an initiative which identifies, educates, and equips the next generation of young leaders from Africa to create positive social change in their communities and across the globe. He hopes to inspire younger generations to take an active role in solving global issues through improving access to education and employment. Isaac is the English speaking facilitator for African Youth Movement (AYM) committee of employment and entrepreneurship, a pan-African movement of young Africans scattered across the globe, developing solutions to African problems.
Congratulations again to Isaac for his impressive selection to this internationally renowned conference!
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Part of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems Centennial Dialogues, Critical Issues in Land and Food Systems series
On April 29, Alumni UBC, in partnership with the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and the Heart & Stroke Foundation, held a panel discussion exploring the effect of diet and genetics on chronic disease.
What’s more harmful: fat or sugar? Should I drink a glass of red wine every day, or abstain from alcohol altogether? We spend a lot of time worrying about how our dietary choices are impacting our health. In fact, hardly a day goes by where we’re not hearing about how the “latest studies” suggest that we make immediate dietary changes. But some experts suggest that our genetic predisposition for disease is actually the most significant factor in our overall health. So how vigilant do we really need to be about our diet?
Moderator
Panelists
This discussion was recorded April 29, 2015, at the York Theatre in Vancouver.
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The Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. (IAF) has awarded the 2015 Award of Excellence for Innovation to Dr. Saber Miresmailli, founder and CEO of Ecoation Innovative Solutions (EIS), for the development of a wireless crop health monitoring system that will prevent crop losses and decrease pest and disease management costs for growers.
“The Award of Excellence for Innovation celebrates the leaders behind those projects that have the potential to transform a sector, or turn a problem into an opportunity for B.C.’s agriculture and agri-foods industry,” says Ken Bates, IAF chair. “Dr. Miresmailli’s creativity and leadership in addressing the industry-wide issue of crop protection will provide growers with a new tool that allows them to identify and address problems before they spread, reducing crop loss, labour, and pesticide applications.”
EIS crop-sense ™ automates the plant monitoring and inspection process, and identifies where and when treatment is needed at the plant level. Instead of looking for signs of pests and diseases, crop-sense ™ conveys information about plant health based on plant-generated signals before symptoms arise. The system will allow growers to identify pest outbreaks sooner, and take action to manage the pest before there is damage to the crop.
EIS recently established a research greenhouse at UBC to test its technology on eleven major cultivars of tomato and is also conducting massive data collection inside commercial greenhouses to complete its signal database and refine its predictive models and prototype. Once fully implemented, EIS technology can significantly reduce grower operation costs related to pest and disease management and minimize crop losses due to pests and diseases. Commercial trials are underway to prove the efficacy and functionality.
“Our vision at EIS is to change the way we produce and protect our food with the help of innovative technology and big data. I am extremely proud that today, we can apply this vision to various agricultural settings, from sophisticated greenhouses in British Columbia to smallholder cowpea farms in Benin, West Africa,” says Dr. Miresmailli.
“As an immigrant, thinking outside the box has always been my forte. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed tremendous support from people, organizations and government agencies that have invested their trust in me and made my journey possible. I am extremely thankful for the recognition. I consider this award as yet another driving force and motivation for me and my amazing colleagues at EIS with whom I share this honor.”
The IAF Award of Excellence for Innovation in Agriculture and Agri-Food celebrates B.C.’s agriculture and agri-food leaders who have implemented specific projects or initiatives leading to economic, environmental or social benefits to British Columbia and the industry in general, or to a specific sector. This year the award was presented at the IAF Award Luncheon and Project Showcase in Abbotsford.
Through the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program, the Investment Agriculture Foundation has committed over $6-million in federal and provincial funding to projects in research and development and pilots and demonstrations. Looking ahead, the Agri-Innovation program will focus funding on facilitating commercialization and adoption of innovative products, technologies and practices.
The Investment Agriculture Foundation is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization that works with the agri-food industry to strategically invest federal and provincial funds toward projects that have the potential to transform ideas into solutions.
For more information, media may contact:
Sarah Rostami
IAF Communications
250.356.1772
srostami@iafbc.ca
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Gary D. Rolston was born September 2, 1956 in Oliver, B.C. The third of twelve children, Gary was a farm boy through and through. He carried his passion for agriculture into his professional life, graduating from UBC with a BSc in Agricultural Economics in 1981. After university, Gary worked in farm land property management in Alberta and the Fraser Valley. He moved to Comox in 1987, and spent twelve years as District Agriculturist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
In 1997, Gary founded From the Ground Up, an agricultural consulting business in Courtenay, B.C.
Gary co-authored a handful of publications relating to agricultural planning and land-use in Comox and the Fraser Valley. He worked tirelessly on his own career, as well as volunteering for numerous boards and committees advocating for local agriculture.
Gary is survived by his wife Joan, children Erik, Abby, Jodi (Tyler) and grandbuddy Edgar, his fantastic father, Dave, and siblings, Grant (Lauralee), Rick (Marcie), Barb (Doug), Judy (Chris), Terry (Colleen), Rob (Cheryl), Kevin, Ryan (Jen), Ken (Karen), Andrew (Korrie), as well as many nieces and nephews, friends, and colleagues.
A celebration of life will be held at the Native Sons Hall (360 Cliffe Ave, Courtenay, BC) on May 9th from 1pm to 4pm and the family requests that donations be made to the Young Agrarians in lieu of flowers.
With files from the obituary for Gary Rolston.
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Congratulations to Professor Susan Barr, who has been selected as the 2015 recipient of the Earle Willard McHenry Award for Distinguished Service in Nutrition.
The award, presented by the Canadian Nutrition Society, is given annually in recognition of distinguished service in the field of nutrition by a Canadian or Canadian-based individual.
“The award is given for merit in teaching, in providing inspiration to students and colleagues, in providing leadership through professional associations resulting in significant progress in nutrition, in giving administrative or material support towards long-term development of outstanding nutritional or nutritionally-oriented programs, in research achievement which has led to service achievement, in stimulating the interest of students or in creating an atmosphere of public acceptance.”
The Award will be presented at the CNS Annual Conference, May 28-30 in Winnipeg.
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