"Our food supply chain is a highly efficient mature system, but it has been knocked off balance by the crisis... In a way, we went from being on cruise control to hitting traffic."
In recent days, we’ve seen major meat processing plants shutting down because of COVID-19 outbreaks. Farmers are struggling because foreign workers can’t come into the country to plant or harvest crops. Are Canadians facing shortages and rising prices at the grocery store?
While meat packing plants have become virus hot spots, there have been no reported cases from food or food packaging. Experts explain why.
The odds of contracting COVID-19 by eating food processed in a slaughterhouse impacted by outbreaks are “close to zero,” food safety experts say. Food processing plants have been particularly hard hit by outbreaks of COVID-19, with many forced to temporarily shut down as the fast-moving virus spreads among workers. The Cargill plant south of Calgary has taken the toughest blows, with 921 cases of the virus recorded among 2,000 employees.
Can food transmit COVID-19? Should we wear masks and gloves while shopping? Should we wipe down groceries? Cash or credit? These questions and more are answered by ş«ąúÂăÎč expert.
Jennifer Ronholm is an Assistant Professor cross-appointed to the Departments of Animal Science and Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry. Her research interests include using the latest next-generation sequencing techniques to study how the microbiome of food-producing animals affects food quality, as well as how the microbiome of the food we eat affects human health.
Des dizaines de chercheurs de partout au Canada lancent un cri d'alarme au sujet de la santé des Autochtones dans cette lettre ouverte.
Nous sommes un groupe de scientifiques dans le domaine de la santé et de médecins qui écrivons pour exprimer notre préoccupation concernant les effets de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur la santé des communautés autochtones et pour souligner l'urgence d'un soutien proactif pour la sécurité alimentaire et le logement. Nous appelons à la solidarité et à une meilleure réconciliation en ces temps difficiles.
...Signé par (parmis autres)...
A routine trip to the grocery store can be complicated by a boatload of questions in the age of COVID-19.
The pandemic has left many shoppers wondering whether they need to sanitize their cardboard cereal boxes or plastic yogurt containers before unloading their grocery bags.
But several experts say washing your hands is more important than wiping down every item you put in the fridge.
...La chercheuse Elsa Vasseur, de l’UniversitĂ© ş«ąúÂăÎč, travaille prĂ©sentement sur un projet de recherche spĂ©cifiquement consacrĂ© Ă l’exercice des vaches Ă l’extĂ©rieur, mĂŞme en hiver. Elle dit que l’industrie et les consommateurs font pression pour que les animaux puissent sortir faire de l’exercice. Il s’agit d’établir les bons paramètres pour le faire, dit-elle. Ses rĂ©sultats paraĂ®tront dans les prochains mois.
Agriculture faculties are becoming some of the most exciting hubs of interdisciplinary collaboration on Canadian campuses.
Students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of Mac campus celebrate the past, present and future of Sir William's visionary creation
On February 6, members of Macdonald campus came together to take part in the annual Founder’s Day festivities. Chris Buddle, who taught at Mac for many years before moving to the administrative side downtown, summed up the tone for the day.
“Although I spend a lot of my time downtown now, a huge hunk of my heart is here. I love Mac campus and try to visit it regularly,” said the Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Programs).
Congratulations to Eby Noroozi, MSc'78 (Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry) for receiving the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers. The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers recognizes living Canadians who have made a significant, sustained and unpaid contribution to their community, in Canada or abroad. Non-Canadians are also eligible if their contribution brings benefit or honour to Canadians or to Canada.
The citation reads:
Une nouvelle coalition, Fermiers pour la transition climatique, voit le jour.
... Anja Geitmann, doyenne de la FacultĂ© des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'environnement Ă l'UniversitĂ© ş«ąúÂăÎč, estime qu'il faudra un sĂ©rieux coup de main financier du gouvernement.
"Ça c’est le problème. Tout changement est coûteux. Il faut établir des incitatifs pour convaincre les producteurs à faire ces changements."
Finance titan André Desmarais teams up with rock-star farmer to invest in the future of small organic farming
In the first season of Les Fermiers, a hit French-Canadian TV show about vegetable farming in Hemmingford, Quebec, Dany Bouchard [FMT'08], a young trainee, tells his boss and the show’s star, Jean-Martin Fortier [BA’02, Major in Environment], that there won’t be enough turnips to bring to market that week. “We can’t fight the temperature,” Bouchard says. “We have to be patient.”
Award funding gives students lab time, research experience and the chance to discover the right path
...Supported by a Schulich Graduate Fellowship, doctoral student Bikram Poudel is working to improve one of the world’s most important food crops.
Gus was born in Elrose, Saskatchewan and grew up on a farm where he acquired a life-long love for the land. He earned a BSc (Agr) and MSc at the University of Saskatchewan, and a PhD in soil chemistry from Cornell University. Gus spent the majority of his academic career at ş«ąúÂăÎč's Macdonald Campus where he pioneered fertility research in crop production, maximizing crop yield and the value of fertilizer management.
Ils dĂ©tonnent du reste du paysage hivernal : ces arbres, contrairement aux autres, gardent leurs feuilles mĂŞme après leur mort. Ce phĂ©nomène, appelĂ© marcescence, est observable chez certaines espèces d'arbres. MĂ©tĂ©oMĂ©dia s'est entretenu avec David Wees, chargĂ© de cours au DĂ©partement des sciences vĂ©gĂ©tales et directeur adjoint du programme Gestion et technologies d’entreprise agricole (GTEA) Ă l'universitĂ© ş«ąúÂăÎč.
Every year, patches of Australian forests are consumed by fire, an ecologically necessary process that releases soil nutrients and stimulates plant growth. When the fire season is exacerbated by drought and high temperature, however, the devastation is so great that some citizens are forced to flee their homes. In the most extreme circumstances, natural habitats are ruined completely, even to the point of species extirpation.Â
