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Throughout the year, the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (LCSFS) hosts events related to sustainable food systems featuring researchers, students, and community partners.
Many of our events are recorded and available on our YouTube Channel.
Past Events
March 1, 2024 | 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST.
Panel Abstract
Joined by activist, writer, and former migrant farm worker Gabriel Allahdua, as well as Drs. Janet McLaughlin and Jenna Hennebry, the panel will take a close look at the role of migrant labour program reform in building just and sustainable food systems within Canada. Speakers will share their experiences with the current food system and the people who grow our food, and importantly, how the existing agricultural system impacts their health and wellbeing.
Speakers
- Andrew Spring (Moderator, The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems)
- Gabriel Allahdua (Activist, Author of Harvesting Freedom)
- Janet McLaughlin (Professor, Community Health, Wilfrid Laurier University)
- Jenna Hennebry (Professor, Communication Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University)
March 14, 2023
Presentation Abstract
Although we marked the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit last year, we still are farther than ever from our sustainability goals. In this webinar, our panel of experts, Robert McLeman, Miriam Medel Garcia, and Magdalena Ackermann, reflect on and answer questions at the intersection of food security, climate change, migration, desertification and land rights to address key directions about the future of people and the planet.
Speakers
- Alison Blay-Palmer (Chairholder, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies)
- Magdalena Ackerman (Policy and Advocacy Officer, Food Systems, Nutrition and Agroecology, Society for International Development)
- Miriam Medel Garcia (Chief, Global Policy Advocacy and Regional Cooperation for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Mexican diplomat and former Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework to Combat Climate Change).
- Robert McLeman (Professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University; Lead Author for IPCC Report, 2022, ‘Health, wellbeing and the changing structure of communities’)
November 17, 2022
Presentation Abstract
This online panel discussion explores how climate change is impacting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the Northwest Territories. Drs. Jennifer Baltzer, Frances Stewart, and Heidi Swanson discuss the implications of climate warming induced disturbances in the boreal forests, changes to wildlife habitats and distribution, and warming of aquatic ecosystems for northern food systems and biodiversity. Panelists discuss links between northern landscapes, people, and food systems and explain how their research contributes to our understanding of how changing northern ecosystems can be managed in the future. Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies, moderates a group discussion connecting research taking place in the Northwest territories to global discussions about climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable food systems.
Speakers
- Alison Blay-Palmer (Chairholder, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies)
- Dr. Jennifer Baltzer (Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair at Wilfrid Laurier University)
- Dr. Frances Stewart (Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Northern Wildlife Biology)
- Dr. Heidi Swanson (Associate Professor and Jarislowsky Chair in Sustainable Water Futures)
July 8, 2021
Dialogue Page and Official Feedback
Presentation Abstract
While there is increased recognition of the importance of territorial governance for transforming food systems and of its relevance to a variety of action areas and solution clusters within the final stages of the Food Systems Summit preparation, it is important to gain a better understanding of the concrete measures which could help bring this about. To catalyze change, we need to know more about the actions that help ensure success as well as what hampers implementation of integrated approaches. This dialogue added to the growing knowledge base about how to enact territorial governance to build resilient food systems and provided insights to ensure consistency and synergy of pathways leading to sustainable territorial food systems.
Territorial food systems must bring together stakeholders from relevant sectors across key administrative levels to enhance food system resilience and spark synergistic complementarities so that relatively lower-level actions can deliver a higher-level outcome. To do this effectively, users of such approaches need to define their aims according to the context and circumstances.
Speakers
- Manuel Lapão (CPLP, Inter-governmental organizations)
- Gabriel Ferrero (Spain, National government)
- Rodrigo Messias (UCLG)
- Stefano Marta (A Territorial Approach to the SDGs, OECD)
- Elodie Valette (CIRAD, Research Institution)
April 28, 2021
Presentation Abstract
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, four online surveys were conducted to better understand food access, concerns, and food system perceptions in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. In this webinar, the lead researchers highlight survey results about how the pandemic affected people’s food access, food purchasing, and altered their perceptions of the food system. The researchers provide a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the pooled data across those surveys (BC, AB, ON, and QB) as well as regional vignettes to understand the differences across regions. The discussant, Mary Anne Martin, provides a reflection on the presentations and her own COVID-19 research and is followed by an open question and answer period.
Speakers
- Wallapak Polasub (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
- Mary Beckie (University of Alberta)
- Irena Knezevic (Carleton University)
- Daiva Nielsen (McGill University)
- Mary Anne Martin (Trent University)
- Catherine Mah (Dalhousie University)
March 9, 2021
Presentation Abstract
In this webinar, open source technologists and sustainable food systems researchers discussed the role that data consortiums and open data standards can play in driving the transition to more equitable, sustainable, and efficient local food systems.
With official responses from food systems scholars Sarah Rotz (York University) and Irena Knezevic (Carleton University), Rachel Arnould and Clémentine Triballeau of Open Food Network France discussed their work leading the Data Food Consortium (DFC)—a multi-stakeholder initiative that brings tech platforms together to spearhead a new future for foodtech, one based on the premise that cooperation between foodtech providers can play a key role in supporting farmer livelihoods and catalyzing the growth of thriving local food systems.
January 22, 2021
Presentation Abstract
In this webinar, sustainable food system practitioners, experts, and researchers explore the possibilities of policy dialogues, digital retail spaces, and ecological production for farmers in Canada. Panelists present their research findings and recommendations from three projects including: (1) lessons learned from a community partnership on the future of farming in Hastings County in Eastern Ontario, (2) data on how digital technologies are changing the way that farmers engage in markets across the country, and (3) insights collected at a field school on the future of agroecology in Canada. Panelists discuss the process of community-research partnerships, offer policy recommendations relevant to small-scale farmers, and explore how their work is scalable and/or replicable in other contexts. Discussant Bess Legault from the National Farmers Union provides insights on how research can support farmer livelihoods in Canada.
Speakers
- Charles Levkoe (Lakehead University)
- Theresa Schumilas (Open Food Network Canada)
- David Thomas (Open Food Network Canada)
- Peter Andrée (Carleton University)
- Louise Livingstone (Harvest Hastings)
Discussant
- Bess Legault (National Farmers' Union)
Moderator
- Bryan Dale (Feeding the City: Pandemic and Beyond)
October 30, 2020
Presentation Abstract
FLEdGE researchers and community partners discussed the importance of innovative food policy for resilient regional food systems. This webinar explored the intersections of regional infrastructure, municipal policies, and local food networks. Panelists considered how practitioners can work across scales to imagine regional food systems that are more just, equitable, and resilient. The webinar recording is available in English, with French materials forthcoming.
Speakers
- Sandra Mark (Small Scale Food Processor Association)
- Anna-Liisa Aunio (Dawson College)
- Anne Marie Aubert (Conseil du Système Alimentaire Montréalais)
- Johanna Wilkes (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Moderator
- Irena Knezevic (Carleton University)
October 16, 2020 | World Food Day Webinar
Presentation Abstract
COVID-19 has exposed many pre-existing challenges and inequities in our food system, and disproportionately impacted BIPOC communities and migrant agricultural workers across Canada. For World Food Day 2020, the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies hosted a webinar featuring food system experts and advocates Melana Roberts, Stephanie Morningstar, Gabriel Allahdua, and Janet McLaughlin. During the webinar, the panelists discussed how people experience food system inequities and explored the impact of COVID-19 on their work. They also made suggestions on how we can work together to create a food system that is more equitable, responsive, and just.
Speakers
- Gabriel Allahdua (Justice for Migrant Workers)
- Janet Mclaughlin (Migrant Worker Health Project, Wilfrid Laurier University)
- Melana Roberts (Food Secure Canada, Toronto Food Policy Council)
- Stephanie Morningstar (Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust)
Moderator
- Alison Blay-Palmer (UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies)
26 Junio 2020
En este seminario examinaremos por qué la gestión de la biodiversidad y los ecosistemas son componentes importantes para construir sistemas alimentarios sostenibles. Escuchará a investigadores que trabajan directamente con comunidades que practican sistemas de producción de alimentos centradas en ecosistemas biodiversos. Basándose en la investigación fundada en comunidades en Brasil y México en el contexto de los movimientos globales actuales de biodiversidad e sostenibilidad, aprenderá sobre los desafíos únicos que enfrentan los actores de los sistemas alimentarios y cómo las comunidades utilizan la agroforestería y otros principios ecológicos de producción de alimentos para guiar su trabajo.
Ponentes
- Alison Blay-Palmer (Catedra de UNESCO en Estudios de Alimentación, Biodiversidad y Sostenibilidad y Directora do Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Canadá)
- Laura Gomez Tovar (Profesora Investigadora del Depto. de Agroecología, Investigadora miembra del CIIDRI, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico)
- Andre Lacerda (Investigador, Embrapa Florestas, Brasil)
- Eve Nimmo (Investigadora Pos-doctora, Universidad Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Brasil)
- Anita Diederichsen (Líder mundial de restauración del paisaje forestal/Coordinador de la FLR ACAI, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF))
Mediador
- Eduardo Amazonas de Almeida (Doctor en Ciencias Biológicas, Productor agroecológico)
June 5, 2020 | 2020 World Environment Day Webinar
In this webinar our speakers explored why biodiversity and ecosystems management are important components for building sustainable food systems. The webinar features four researchers who work directly with communities engaged in food production practices that are centred on biodiverse ecosystems. Drawing on community-based research in Brazil, Southern Ontario, and the Northwest Territories, they spoke about the unique challenges facing food systems actors and how communities are using agroforestry and other ecological food production principles to guide their work. This was the first in a series of annual webinars hosted by the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity, and Sustainability Studies.
Speakers
- Alison Blay-Palmer (UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity, and Sustainability Studies and Director of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems)
- Sebastien Goupil (Secretary General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO)
- Liette Vasseur (President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and UNESCO Chair on Community sustainability: from local to global)
- Andre Lacerda (Researcher at Embrapa Forestry)
- Eve Nimmo (Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History at Ponta Grossa State University)
- Andrew Spring (Associate Director of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and Lead Researcher for the Northern Food Systems Research Group)
January 28, 2020
Watch the launch remarks and presentation
Wilfrid Laurier University Professor and Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems Director Alison Blay-Palmer has been named United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair in Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies. Led in Canada by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the prestigious UNESCO Chairs program promotes international inter-university cooperation in key priority areas for the agency.
The launch included the seminal presentation by Chairholder Alison Blay-Palmer and remarks from:
- Liette Vasseur, President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and UNESCO Chair on Community sustainability: from local to global;
- Sébastien Goupil, secretary-general of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO;
- Deborah MacLatchy, President and Vice-Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University;
- Jonathan Newman, Vice-President Research, Wilfrid Laurier University; and
- Ann Fitz-Gerald, Director Balsillie School of International Affairs.
Nov 4, 2019
Join Eve Nimmo, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History at Ponta Grossa State University, and André Lacerda, Researcher from Embrapa Forestry, for this research seminar on Brazil's agroecological erva-mate production. This seminar will explore the contemporary and historical context of Brazil's agroecological erva-mate production and explain how it is helping to regenetrate the Brazilian forest.
March 14, 2019
Dr. Nevin Cohen, Associate Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health, and Research Director of CUNY’s Urban Food Policy Institute, joined us for a guest lecture on hidden food metrics and what they can tell us about our food system. The talk was followed by a Q&A led by Barbara Emanuel, Manager of the Toronto Food Strategy.
Oct. 23, 2018
During this panel discussion moderated by Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer, food system experts Dr. Patricia Ballamingie (Carleton), Barbara Emanuel (Toronto Public Health), and Dr. Theresa Schumilas (Wilfrid Laurier University), explore how we can use the New Urban Agenda and other international agreements (SDGs and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact) as levers for changing the food system.
Contact Us
Andrew Spring, Director
E: lcsfs@wlu.ca