CANCELLED - UGRA Spring Forum 2020

Due to the present and on-going COVID-19 situation we will be cancelling our annual Spring Forum.  This is in compliance with government and university policies instituted to help mitigate the spread of this perverse virus. 

We were so looking forward to our Spring Forum where we would have heard from Mike Von Massow, OAC Chair in Food Systems Leadership,and what he has to say about Animal Welfare and Food Waste.  You can check out his food website at: http://www.foodfocusguelph.ca/.

Mike von Massow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics.  He is also the OAC Chair in Food Systems Leadership.  Mike studies how people think about food and how that shapes the decisions they make.  He also studies the structure of food value chains and how they are changing to meet the changing demands of the system.  He speaks to a variety of groups on issues relating to food and is often quoted in the media, having appeared on CBC's The National, The Nature of Things, and in the Globe and Mail.  He curates the foodfocusguelph.ca blog and hosts the Food Focus podcast which both discuss current food issues.

1 - Trends in the Food System:  What we see and why we see it.

There are a number of significant trends shaping the changes we see in the food system.  Mike will provide an overview of some of the key trends and discuss why they are important and how they are driving change.

2 - Food Waste:  Understanding the nature and cause of the problem.

Food waste is receiving considerable attention in the media and from policy makers.  Food Waste is still very poorly understood and much of the data to date is anecdotal.  Mike will talk about what we know about food waste, both composition and causes, and what we don't.  He will talk about some of the Guelph based research helping to develop a better understanding.