“With very large-scale agriculture, we are simplifying the landscapes a lot. It makes them much less hospitable for most species.”
Dr. Claire Kremen, a UBC professor from the Institute for Resources, Environment, & Sustainability and the Department of Zoology, recently won the 2020 Volvo Environment Prize for her research into how humanity can sustainably feed itself while preserving biodiversity. Congratulations Claire!
“We’re trying to gather the information not only to help farmers with their day-to-day, but also to think more broadly about the future and how we can build a better planet for our children.”
This article features interviews with CSFS Associate Dr. Zia Mehrabi and project staffer Kevin Cusson. They are creating a free, open-source web app to advance sustainability science and to help farmers improve their financial and environmental management.
“Big data is only as useful as the insights it provides, and the decision-making it informs.”
Dr. Zia Mehrabi, CSFS Associate, was the lead author of a study which found that the majority of farming households in Africa do not have internet access. Dr. Mehrabi spoke with SciDev.Net about the effects of access to technology on the agri-food sector, as well as why governments should focus on increasing such access to maximize farming productivity.
Please join us for the 28th Annual MacCarthy Lecture in Pest Management: Lessons from the last 10 years of Drosophila suzukii: Moving forward with management.
Date: Monday, December 7th
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm PST
Link to Register: https://www.bcacarn.com/swdtalk/
Speaker: Dr. Hannah Burrack, North Carolina State University
This year, the talk will be virtual, free, and open to all as part of the BC Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Network 2020 Provincial Workshop.
Additional sessions during the virtual workshop will include applied research webinars for berry and vegetable producers, and discussions on integrated pest management for spotted wing drosophila.
Full workshop details, including multi-session
registration, can be found here: https://www.bcacarn.com/rushmore_event/2020-virtual-workshop/
This event is brought to you by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS), the BC Food Web, and The BC Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Network (ACARN)
This week we are featuring Faceplant Organic Skin Care, a first-year vendor at our market! Faceplant Organic Skin Care is bringing handmade, vegan, organic, chemical, and cruelty-free skincare across the Lower Mainland with the goal of empowering customers to make conscious decisions on what goes on their body. We recently had the pleasure of chatting with co-owner, Marissa Hicks, to find out more.
As a company Faceplant officially launched in February. However, it has been in the making a year before that.
I have always had an interest in skincare as I started modelling when I was 11 years old. My skin endured a lot of abuse over the years at photoshoots where makeup was piled on my face all day under bright lights. I was expected to have clear skin when I would show up to work and have makeup caked on my face all day. Then when I had my daughter and she ended up having eczema, I really started to educate myself on skincare. My mother also has rosacea, so I wanted to find skincare that wouldn’t irritate both their skin. I found it extremely frustrating that so many brands would say “organic” but then when I read the ingredients saw toxic chemicals. This inspired me to look into making my own.
What are the three most important things you think people should know about Faceplant Organic Skin Care?
What products do you sell? Can you tell us a bit about what makes them unique?
So far I have moisturizers, serums, shaving butters, toners, face wash, cleansing oil, shampoo, ph balancing hair rinse, detangler, mask, hair serum, deodorant, body scrub and the Calendula Healing Salve. The only non-skin care product we currently sell are smudge sticks, which are a lovely way to purify the air without the use of chemicals. What makes them unique is how they are as natural as Mother Nature intended – Chemical-free. Good for you and the environment. We can sleep at night knowing that the products we make are not hurting you and not polluting our precious environment.
My goal is to eventually have a nontoxic alternative to every skincare product you need.
What process goes into developing a new product?
A lot of research goes into developing a new product before formulating. I have taken skincare courses in order to successfully formulate our products and I am continually researching natural ingredients in order to create the healthiest skincare. I want to know which ingredients are best for the skin type and body area I am designing the product for. After carefully sourcing ingredients I get to play. The formulations don’t always work out as planned, but when it does, I test it on myself until I am satisfied to let others test for me. I take the feedback and tweak the products as needed and once I am confident in the outcome of the product I get it ready to sell. Which includes preparing, bottling, labelling, and delivering/shipping. At Faceplant we take care of every step of the process. This way we can guarantee the freshness and quality.
How do you select ingredients for your products?
I stay true to Faceplants ethical beliefs;
The setting really appealed to me. It’s very tranquil to be in a beautiful field. We are so happy with our choice to come and we will for sure be back due to how well it is run and how friendly the staff and other vendors are.
If you could only use one of your products for the rest of your life which one would it be?
That’s tough because I use so many of them daily. But if I have to choose one it would be the Calendula Healing Salve. It’s a multipurpose product. Calendula has wonderful healing and hydrating properties and I specifically chose essential oils that are healing as well. I use it on bug bites, cuts, chapped lips, cuticles, dry hands, and rough feet. I carry it in my purse and use it several times a day. My daughter applies it to her eczema and several return customers also claim it helps their eczema as well.
We will be at all the remaining UBC markets of this season, however, all of our products are available online through our website. We have lots of gift ideas for Christmas and once you know what you want to purchase we offer free delivery within the Lower Mainland. Simply check the website to browse our products, if you order through the website it will charge you shipping. If you send us an email at faceplantorganic@gmail.com with a minimum order of $30, we can deliver
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“Storing carbon in the soil is essential for healthy crops and important for reducing CO2 emissions.”
Dr. Sean Smukler, UBC LFS professor, recently gave comments in the Natural Observer about the reduction of soil fertility in the Fraser Valley, and why this is problematic for farming.
“People have unstable or inadequate access to food because they don’t have the financial means.”
Dr. Jennifer Black, CSFS Associate and LFS Professor, recently spoke with iHeartRadio about how the pandemic has widened food insecurity in Canada.
We recently sent one of our Autumn Frost squash to Sage Restaurant, and were gifted a recipe in return! Bree Hargraves is a friend of the Farm and chef at Sage Restaurant and Catering on campus. The Autumn Frost squash is a variety new to us this year – with rich butternut flavour and a natural bloom on the skin, it is sure to become a new favourite. Delight your dinner table with this recipe, and try the vegetarian switch up. It’s worth every bite!
Pick up produce at our weekly markets: Saturdays 10AM-2PM at UBC Farm. Learn more about our produce and browse other recipes in our Market Recipe Blog. Recieve regular market recipes from our newsletter here.
This week we are featuring Salty Cabbage, a first year vendor at our market! Salty Cabbage offers kimchi made from a variety of locally-sourced produce, all are gluten-free and without preservatives and a great source of probiotic goodness. We recently had the pleasure of chatting with owner and UBC alumni, Kailyn Chunn, to find out more.
We started last September, so it has been almost 9months. We started making and selling kimchi because it’s hard to find good kimchi in Vancouver. They are all imported from Korea and China and most of them are over fermented by the time customers purchase them. Most of them have MSG and preservatives and are non-vegan. We offer clean, fresh kimchi and have 2 types of vegan-friendly kimchi.
What are the three most important things you think people should know about Salty Cabbage?Kimchi is simply salted napa cabbage marinated in different spices. You start eating them when it’s fresh and it slowly gets fermented over time. It is one of the healthiest food in the world because of the amount of probiotics and vitamins it has.
Korean people started making kimchi when napa cabbages were first imported from China. Back in the old days there was no refrigeration, so people started preserving vegetables before winter and eat them throughout long cold winter days.
What makes yours unique?
. We just make 4 of those hundred different types- Classic, Vegan Classic, White, and Radish kimchi. It’s the most well-known and the most common kimchi you will see in Korea. However, our kimchi stands out from other commercial brands because our kimchi is homestyle, authentic, and only use real ingredients. It’s different in texture, smell, and taste. A lot of new customers become regular customers and order our bulk tub monthly.
When we buy local ingredients, I buy them from someone I trust, usually farmers I meet from farmers markets. Their products might be pricier than those mass-produced products. However, the quality from local farmers are much better since they put so much effort and care into their products. Another perk of buying ingredients from local farmers at farmers’ market is that you can check the quality and the taste of their products weekly at the market.
If you could only have one of your kimchis for the rest of your life which one would it be?
It would definitely be our classic kimchi. I love the sweet and spicy flavour when it’s fresh and the fizziness and tangy flavour when it’s fermented. I eat a jar of classic kimchi daily and I can’t survive without it.
I graduated from UBC so I get newsletters and updates on social media platforms regularly. UBC Market was the very first market I had in mind when I first researched on markets. I love how it is set up right on the farm and there are so many unique vendors here.
You can find us at UBC farmers market, Mt. Pleasant farmers market and West end farmers market. For retail stores, we are at Sungiven foods, West Wood Organics in Kerrisdale, The federal store, Meinhardt, Nourish Market, Larry’s market, Pomme natural, and Grocery checkout UBC. We are also at C market coffee in Coquitlam and spent grounds coffee roasters in Surrey. If you place an order on our website, we deliver for free once a month in certain regions
“Saving our climate — and the future of food — could be as simple as planting fields of clover or putting cows to pasture on wheat fields in winter.”
Dr. Sean Smukler, UBC LFS professor, recently gave comments in the Natural Observer about farming techniques that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as how managing nitrous oxide emissions is complicated.