不良研究所

Over sustainably sourced plates of rice, vegan curry and salad, about 200 people passed around naan bread and chewed on some startling statistics 鈥� such as we import 95 per cent of our produce in Canada and we throw out $31 billion of food every year 鈥� as part of a panel discussion about food trends and innovation.

The panel was the latest in the 不良研究所 and Beyond: Sustainability in the Next 20 Years speaker series. As people settled in, the screens flashed innovations in food such as beef grown from cattle鈥檚 stem cells, edible water bottles, and lunar gardening.

Before dinner, each panellist spoke about the challenges and opportunities around food production innovations, as well as food insecurity and waste. Then the panellists joined the audience at their tables to enjoy the family-style meal and talk about food. As dessert was served, the panellists returned to the stage for a lively Q-and-A.

From the pleasures of eating to the politics of food

One panellist, U不良研究所鈥檚 Lisa Stowe, PhD'16, noted that discussion in her Culture of Food class has changed over the last seven years from focusing on the pleasures of eating to the politics of food. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a complicated world of food culture,鈥� says the instructor in the Department of Communication, Media and Film. 鈥淭he more we talk about it, the better consumers we will be.鈥�

Stowe suggests people learn how to cook and 鈥済row a tomato plant鈥� to do their part to help reduce food waste. 鈥淏ecause if you learn how to cook and you make your own food, you鈥檙e less likely to throw it out,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd if you grow your own food or you know someone who has grown your food, you are less likely to throw that food out as well.鈥�

Re-establishing that connection to agriculture and how our food is produced is important for people to understand in order have a healthy food systems ecology, said Tom Lynch-Staunton, issues manager at the  鈥淣inety-four per cent of Canadians know little or nothing about farming. It鈥檚 a challenge.鈥�

Locally-raised beef can be an important part of a balanced, nutritious diet, he added. 鈥淲e live in a global food system where it may be more efficient to ship a tomato from Mexico. That鈥檚 a reality but we have to figure that out, and buying local builds that reconnection back to agriculture.鈥�

Solving problems, one innovative step at a time

Paul Schumlich is growing produce and fish for restaurants in 不良研究所 all year long using an innovative aquaponics system. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 solve all the problems at once but you have to take the first step,鈥� said the president and CEO of  鈥淭here are so many problems and there are so many opportunities, and we just took a leap.鈥�

In the Q-and-A, Schumlich also pointed out that when we toss wilted produce from the back of the fridge, 鈥渨e鈥檙e throwing away water, we're throwing away fertilizer and we鈥檙e throwing away arable land.鈥� Deepwater Farms is innovating food production in a way that minimizes wastes from growing our food.

Lourdes Juan, BGS'05, MEDes'09, founder of 不良研究所鈥檚 , has found an innovative way to address food waste. Leftovers Foundation鈥檚 primary work is to collect unwanted food from restaurants, grocery stores and bakeries and deliver it to social agencies to feed people. Juan offered the story of when the foundation collected over-ripe bananas from a local grocer, along with day-old loaves of bread from Cobbs Bakery and took them to Made by Marcus Ice Creams, who turned them into Banana French Toast Ice Cream for their customers. 

鈥淔our million people in Canada don鈥檛 know where their next meal is coming from,鈥� Juan said. 鈥淲hen we think about food insecurity we think about people living on the street, when in fact most food-insecure Canadians have homes, they are university students, grandparents, and they are children.鈥�

The panellists urged people to buy only the food you need, buy local when you can and cook at home more often. 鈥淧ractise mindfulness and respect where the ingredients come from,鈥� said the moderator, chef and  instructor Andrew Hewson. The ideas from the discussion showed us that the trends in food right now are returning to the basics, and being innovative in addressing food waste.

Waste: the Socioeconomic Footprint event scheduled for Jan. 23

Join our panel of experts at the next speaker series event , Tuesday, Jan. 23, 4 to 7 p.m. for a seated table discussion that explores how people can reconsider their consumption habits and where they put their waste.

不良研究所 and Beyond: Sustainability in the Next 20 Years features thought-provoking panel presentations and audience discussion toward sustainable and scalable solutions to complex social, ecological and economic challenges. The series is an Office of the Provost initiative, led by the Academic Sustainability Advisory Committee in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and supported by U不良研究所 Alumni. Learn more about U不良研究所鈥檚  and find out how we are doing in the