The politics of progress Change frequently makes us uncomfortable. Some adjust easier than others do. Some embrace change, while others shun it. Generally, we tend to welcome changes that improve our daily lives, such as the newest version of a cell phone. Whereas, changes that require us to do things Read more…
2019 a harrowing ride on the ag & food rollercoaster While the screams elicited from those clutching their seats were not of terror or excitement, but rather of shouts of frustration or just heavy sighs of the bone-weary and exhausted, the weather in many places caused untold anxiety and stress Read more…
Full tummies allow for foolish ideas The agriculture industry has the incredible ability to continually improve the production of crops while making it appear effortless, which has allowed people to hold romantic notions about food. Our grocery store shelves are continually over-flowing and with tons of variation for our own Read more…
GM Agriculture and Food Security: Fears and Facts Have you found yourself questioning something you’ve seen in the mainstream or social media about our food production? I suspect most of us have at some point been uncertain by what the media presents us with. I personally see ‘information’ that isn’t Read more…
48 Years of Innovation Success Founded in 1971, the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) focuses on research and development of new crop varieties. Over the years the varieties have expanded to include: spring wheat, durum wheat, canary seed, barley, oats, flax, field peas, lentils, chickpeas, faba beans and Read more…
The skyrocketing cost of science and academic journal open access fees In the past month, I’ve been fortunate to have two articles accepted for journal publication. Publishing research is the key component of my academic work and research. While I am thrilled to have had two articles accepted for publication, Read more…
Consumer perspectives and awareness about how risks are assessed and managed Food and the safety of our food are of the utmost importance to people, or so we thought. In recent research undertaken by my summer student Claire, it appears that the majority of Canadians aren’t all that worried about Read more…
EU animal feed import demands pressures crop producing nations European based environmental organizations were some of the first organizations to publicly advocate against the commercial introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops over 20 years ago. Since this time, these environmental groups have intensively lobbied to have GM crop production banned Read more…
Kicking off the new academic year As summer slides into fall, the hallways once again filled with excitement and enthusiast chatter of returning students. While the excitement is more likely a result of friends reuniting and reminiscing rather than the commencement of new classes, it’s still a welcome sound. Although Read more…
From June 4-7, 130 people from academia (including myself), government and industry, convened in Ravello, Italy, to share, listen and discuss the latest research on the bioeconomy and biotechnology at the ICABR conference. With over 60 paper presentations, 3 keynote speaker presentations, and multiple plenary and panel discussions far more Read more…