Silk, Great Value plant-based beverages recalled across Canada
Silk, Great Value plant-based beverages recalled across Canada
Silk and Great Value plant-based beverages. Photo credit: Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
July 16, 2024
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has recalled a selection of plant-based drinks after discovering they could be contaminated with listeria.
CSFS Associate and Land and food systems professor Dr. Siyun Wang said while listeria isn’t as common as other food-borne bacteria like salmonella or E. coli, its mortality rate can be as high as 30 per cent.
Read the full article at CBC News or Yahoo News.
Long Table Dinner
UBC Farm Long Table Dinner
An enchanted evening in the poplar grove
For one night only, join Executive Chef David Speight and the exceptional Sage Catering team at this magical farm to table dinner — right here at the UBC Farm.
July 24, 2025
5:30-9:00 p.m. (Farm tour included)
(Farm tour included)
$250
SOLD OUT! Sign up for the Waitlist
Want advance tickets?
Become a Member of the UBC Farm!This event sells out in minutes. To ensure you get tickets next year for this highly coveted event, become a member! Hedgerow members get first advanced presale access, then Orchard and Farm Gate, and then the presale goes to our waitlist. Last year we sold out before we even got to our newsletter subscribers, so don’t delay!
About the Long Table Dinner
Following the wildly successful events of previous years, the UBC Farm Long Table Dinner returns with an enchanting multi-course, family-style meal featuring the exquisite organic produce grown at the UBC Farm.
Enjoy a warm summer evening under twinkling lights at long tables set between rows of trees in the poplar grove, while our team treats you to a full-service menu celebrating the seasonal bounty of UBC Farm and local food producers.
Tickets include dinner, one beverage and canapés on arrival. We will have a cashless bar open with selections of local wine and beer. Menu may change before the event to maximize in-season ingredients. A Farm Tour (optional) will take place before dinner.
Preview last year’s menu to get a sense of what’s in store!
You may notice that our ticket price has increased more this year than in previous years. This reflects an increase in the cost of food and equipment and ensures that employees are paid a fair wage. All net proceeds, after covering expenses, will go directly to supporting the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at the UBC Farm through our experiential learning programs, research, and sustainable food cultivation. We sincerely appreciate your support!
This event is proudly brought to you by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, Sage Catering, and UBC Food Services.
About the UBC Farm
The UBC Farm is the Centre for Sustainable Food System’s main research, teaching and learning space, located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. Situated within a 90-year-old coastal hemlock forest, the 24-hectare UBC Farm was started by students in 2001 and since then the integrated organic farm and forest ecosystem has become a key site of agroecological research and education as well as an important Vancouver food hub.
The UBC Farm is certified organic and features annual crop fields, perennial hedgerows and orchards, Indigenous-led gardens, and forest stands. We cultivate over 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
David Speight, UBC Culinary Director and Executive Chef
About the Chef
David Speight is a homegrown Vancouver talent who has been cooking professionally for the past twenty-five years. He is a graduate of culinary programs both locally at Vancouver Community College as well as from the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
In Chef Speight’s current position as Executive Chef & Culinary Director at the University of British Columbia David has been a key leader in inspiring his colleagues, students, and faculty to join him in addressing health, wellbeing and sustainability issues through the need and love of food. David was the 2018 recipient of the UBC President’s staff award for Leadership and continues to lead UBC towards a more sustainable food system.
Key Details
Event is Weather-Dependent
In a true long table dinner style, we will not be covering the event with a tent. If rain is forecasted on the Farm, we will cancel at least three days in advance and offer a full refund.
Refund and Transfer Policy
Tickets cannot be refunded but can be transferred. Please email us to transfer your tickets to another name. Please note there is a limit of 6 tickets per transaction. American Express is not accepted at this time.
Dietary Options
Dinner will be served family style. Vegetarian and gluten-free options will be incorporated with all courses. Preview last year’s menu here. This year’s menu will be published shortly before the event and may also change in order to maximize in-season ingredients.
How to get to the UBC Farm
Please view Transit & Parking Details here.
Visiting Guidelines
We ask all UBC Farm visitors to respect and enjoy the space, and to not disturb any plants, equipment, or research apparatus on site. Please watch your footing and stay on the roads or grass pathways. Please leave your pets at home.
LFS Reach Out is out!
LFS Reach Out is out!
Reach Out Spring 2024 Issue
June 11, 2024
Many of our CSFS Associates and the CSFS Strategic Plan are featured in this issue of the LFS Faculty magazine!
- Dean’s Message – Rickey’s last!
- Studying Pollinators on the Frontlines of Resiliency with Risa Sargent
- Drought Solutions for Producers Start Small with Thorsten Knipfer
- Building Resilience: The UBC Farm’s Strategic Plan to Transform Food Systems
- Sowing the Seeds for Resilient Production Systems with Andrew Riseman
- Digging Deep on Resiliency Challenges with Jean-Thomas Cornelis
- New Research Centre Aims to Tackle Food Insecurity with Anubhav Pratap-Singh
- Serving Students and the Community as Dean with Rickey Yada
- Helping Wine Producers Hit by Extreme Weather with Simone Castellarin
Read the articles at Reach Out Magazine.
How to save the world in five not so easy steps
How to save the world in five not so easy steps
Wild rose. Photo by CSFS at UBC Farm.
June 11, 2024
CSFS Associate Dr. Kai Chan wrote that individuals should demand that systems change towards sustainability, and not depend on governments in the fight against climate change.
Chan outlines five essential steps for this transformation:
- Go Deep: Focus on long-term sustainability over quick fixes.
- Update Tradition: Challenge the status quo and integrate systems science into decisions.
- Embrace Uncertainty: Adaptively experiment with bold solutions.
- Seek Solidarity: Foster multiple perspectives and counter societal polarization.
- Engage Science: Improve public access to systems science and involve academics in policy-making. By uniting these efforts, society can effectively address the global challenge of sustainability.
Read the full article at National Observer.
Federal tests find no signs of bird flu virus in Canadian retail milk
Federal tests find no signs of bird flu virus in Canadian retail milk
A shopper walks past the milk and dairy display case at a Target store in Manhattan. Photo credit: Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
June 3, 2024
Canadian monitoring is underway as the U.S. grapples with an unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in dairy cattle. Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) laboratories have tested 142 retail milk samples from across all 10 provinces, the agency said.
“There’s no evidence showing that [H5N1] is threatening our milk supply,” noted Siyun Wang, CSFS Associate and associate professor of food, nutrition and health at UBC.
Read the full article at CBC.
Business Climate: How drought is changing B.C.’s agriculture industry
Business Climate: How drought is changing B.C.’s agriculture industry
A hay field in Westwold, BC. Photo credit: Elaine Stovin.
May 29, 2024
B.C. cattle ranchers, hit hard by last summer’s severe drought, are facing unprecedented challenges. Sean Smukler, director of the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at the UBC Farm, discusses the urgent need for better water management.
“If we’re really serious about building local food systems, and building our food sovereignty, we need to deal with the water supply and demand situation,” says Smukler.
He calls for significant investment in water storage, conveyance systems, and the preservation of natural landscapes to recharge aquifers. Smukler also stresses the importance of educating farmers on efficient water use to secure B.C.’s agricultural future amidst a changing climate.
Read the full article at BC Business.
Global effort to end plastic pollution
Global effort to end plastic pollution
Dr. Kai Chan
April 26, 2024
CSFS Associate Dr. Kai Chan, professor in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, discussed the global effort to end plastic pollution.
“Global effort to end plastic pollution” CTV Morning Live
Introduced bumble bee dominates Lower Mainland pollinator surveys
Introduced bumble bee dominates Lower Mainland pollinator surveys
Dr. Risa Sargent
April 24, 2024
CSFS Associate Risa Sargent, who heads the Plant Pollinator and Global Change lab in LFS, and master’s student Sarah Knoerr are featured in a UBC News story to discuss raising concerns about the number of common eastern bumble bees—an introduced species—being found in the wild and in research surveys of pollinators in the Lower Mainland.
“Non-native bees swarm Lower Mainland, UBC survey” CBC News
“Non-native bumblebees threaten B.C. wildlife: UBC biologists” City News Vancouver
Wild pollinators could help feed 30 million Canadians, study finds
Wild pollinators could help feed 30 million Canadians, study finds
April 3, 2024
CSFS Associate Matthew Mitchell sheds light on the link between diminishing numbers of wild pollinators and reduced farm productivity in a recent study published in Environmental Research Letters. In his Q&A, he delves into the research findings and proposes ways the public can contribute to protecting wild bees.