Finding Unity: Integrating Environmental Health with Food Production

Food at the Tipping Point: Ways Forward from a Food System in Crisis

Finding Unity: Integrating Environmental Health with Food Production

It has become clear that the conventional way of producing food has a huge toll on the environment. We can see examples around the world of the environmental degradation from conventional food production, whose practices prioritize minimal costs, uniformity and the biggest and fastest growing crops. Soils are becoming depleted of their nutrients, water is being polluted and drained from storage basins faster than it can replenish, whole ecosystems are being bulldozed to make room for monocultures, biodiversity is rapidly declining and food systems are becoming less and less resilient to disease and extreme weather.

So what can we do about it? Our panelists are seeking to identify strategies that evolve beyond our current food production, integrating more sustainable practices for the long-term health of both our food and environment. Join us as we explore what is possible and increasingly necessary for the health and survival of humans and our planet.

This webinar will feature a panel discussion followed by a 30-minute Q&A session. Registration is free. This webinar was convened by Sylvia Nyamaizi who is currently pursuing a PhD in Soil Science at UBC.

View all 10 events in the series here!

Isaac Newton Alou serves as a lecturer at Makerere University’s School of Agricultural Sciences in Uganda. Newton is a scholar in soil science with a bias in crop modelling. During his Ph.D. in soil science, he worked with a global team of modellers to guide future research on coping with climate change in African agriculture. Newton aspires to advance improvements in agricultural production and environmental quality through innovative technologies in water management and plant nutrition. He has a keen interest in developing adaptive tools to aid decisions of the average African farmer.

 

DeLisa Lewis – UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems

DeLisa Lewis is co-owner and operator of a diverse 40-acre farm in the Cowichan Valley, and part-time teaching and research faculty member in UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems. She has 25 years of experience as a certified vegetables organic farmer and 16 years of experience with soil health focused on farm research and field trials. DeLisa holds a PhD in Soils and Agroecology and collaborates with Dr. Sean Smukler and the Sustainable Agriculture Landscapes Lab at UBC to better understand soil health management practices in their regional contexts.

 

Morgan Hamilton – UBC – SoilRes3 Lab

Morgan Hamilton is a Masters student in the SoilRes3 lab at UBC exploring the role that biochar can potentially play in strengthening local agricultural landscapes in the face of climate change. Her research examines the effect of low biochar application rates on water and nutrient dynamics in coarse-textured soils. Morgan’s research interests are largely focused on equitable, reasonable, and responsible adaptation solutions to address climate change impacts in the food system. Morgan graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BSc in Global Resource Systems and a focus on Food Systems in North America.

 

Sylvia Nyamaizi (Moderator) – Ph.D. Candidate at the University of British Columbia

Sylvia Nyamaizi became interested in agricultural sciences while attending her internship training in organic agriculture with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, BOKU University Vienna, Austria in 2012. Her passion towards soil fertility management led her to pursue a B.Sc in Land Management with a major in Soil Science and M.Sc in Soil Science at Makerere University, Uganda. Currently, Sylvia is pursuing a Ph.D. in Soil Science at the University of British Columbia in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at the Agassiz Research and Development Centre (ARDC) under the supervision of Dr. Sean Smukler and Dr. Aimé J. Messiga.

   

The Food at the Tipping Point: Ways Forward from a Food System in Crisis series is brought to you by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS), the BC Food Web, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS), and the Royal Bank of Canada. This 10-part speaker series addresses the urgent need for widespread, dramatic change and provides us inspiration and real solutions.