A panel discussion exploring the business case for climate solutions was part of the 2023 Arrell Food Summit: Pathways to Change on November 14, 2023.

Speakers included:

- Mauricio Alanis, Director of Sustainability Strategy and Partnerships, Maple Leaf Foods

- Mohamed Yaghi, Climate and Agriculture Policy Lead, Climate Action Institute, RBC

- Julie Gartside, Global Head of Integration Management Climate Change Strategies Technical Director, SLR Consulting

- Ellery Burton, Principal Managing Partner, Alterra Innovation

- Sally Flis, Director, Sustainability Program Design & Outcome Management, Nutrien Ag Solutions

The discussion explores the “why” behind adopting climate solutions in food and agriculture.

While climate change can be seen only as a risk, many companies are seizing the opportunity to strengthen their resilience to climate impacts, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and adopt new technologies that will create a competitive business advantage and lead to economic growth. Many businesses also recognize that policy changes are already underway, and are moving to align their business practices with investor, stakeholder and consumer values.

Perspectives from farming, industry and policy will inform this panel discussion, which helps companies, industry and decision-makers explore their ‘why’ behind adopting climate solutions in food and agriculture and helps to strengthen the business case for sustainable decisions.

Thanks to the Arrell Food Institute for partnering to air this episode on Food Farm Talk. First aired in 2024.

More information:

https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/

Ralph Martin’s book is an evocative mix of science, philosophy, memoir, reflection and manifesto for change. And food and farming tie it all together. Food security is certainly a focus, but the book ranges far beyond a narrow view of that phrase.

Ralph is a retired professor of plant agriculture at Guelph with an emphasis on organic agriculture and forage crops. The book promo says the following. “Canadians are failing to balance reasonable food consumption with sufficient and sustainable production. The modern agricultural system is producing more and more food. Too much food.

The cost is enormous: excess nutrients are contaminating the air and water; soil is being depleted; species loss is plunging us toward the sixth extinction; and farmers, racking up debt, are increasingly vulnerable to economic and climatic shifts. And then there is the waste — householders, food processors, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers collectively waste 40 percent of the food produced.

A radical rethink is required. We need to move from excess to enough.” Listen to his discussion with Paul Smith. (Originally aired in 2020).

More information is available at:

https://ralphmartin.ca/

https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459744028-food-security

https://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/rcmartin

Agriculture played an important role in colonialism and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Today it could help build prosperity and reconciliation. We hear from Chief Cadmus Delorme on the history of agriculture and colonialism as it is expressed on Cowessess First Nation, Treaty 4 in Saskatchewan.

In this episode, Chief Delorme traces the history of his First Nation from before European contact, through signing of Treaty 4, the failure to implement Treaty obligations, and the roadblocks to real First Nations engagement in agriculture from the start. Support for European-style agriculture was promised in the numbered treaties of western Canada like Treaty 4, only to be quickly subverted.

Chief Delorme talks about many of the issues regarding these treaties and the Indian Act. The Indian Agents’ power to control First Nations people, the pass system requiring the Indian Agents’ approval of sales of grain and cattle, and arbitrary reductions in the size of the Cowessess reserve land area.

This is a brutal irony as Indigenous people and agriculture have a long history in Canada and on Turtle Island going back thousands of years. The agricultural innovations from Indigenous peoples in the Americas transformed global agriculture after European contact.

This presentation was part of virtual conference in September 2021 on Indigenous Agricultural Innovation held by FHQ Developments and is used with their permission.

Chief Cadmus Delorme, Cree (Nehiyaw) and Saulteaux (Anishinabe), was Chief of the Cowessess First Nation. He came to national attention in 2021 when 751 unmarked graves were identified on Cowessess First Nation. He holds a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration from the First Nations University of Canada, and was also named in CBC Saskatchewan’s Future 40, a list of leaders, builders and change-makers under the age of 40.

This episode is part of a series on different aspects of Indigenous agriculture. In the next episodes, Cadmus Delorme explores the challenges and opportunities for First Nations’ pursuing prosperity through business development in agriculture and agri-business.

Thanks to Thomas Benjoe and Indigenous Agriculture Innovation for partnering to air this on Food Farm Talk.

Cowessess First Nation
https://www.cowessessfn.com/

A Brief History of Indigenous Agriculture
https://manitobamuseum.ca/a-brief-history-of-indigenous-agriculture/

Canada’s First Nations people were country’s first farmers
https://www.producer.com/crops/canadas-first-nations-people-were-countrys-first-farmers/

File Hills Qu’Appelle (FHQ) Developments
https://fhqdev.com/

File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council
https://fhqtc.com/

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations
https://www.fsin.ca/

Indigenous Peoples in Canadian agriculture - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/indigenous-peoples-canadian-agriculture

Water is Food - Emerging Knowledge is a panel discussion hosted by the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. This was held on World Food Day on October 16, 2023, as a panel discussion looking at emerging research and insights into best practices, barriers and opportunities at the intersection of water and agri-food.

Arrell Food Institute director Dr. Evan Fraser moderated a panel of University of Guelph experts at the intersection of water and agri-food to discuss the latest research and best practices in their fields.

The panel discussion features:

- Dr. Larry Goodridge, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety and professor in the Ontario Agricultural College’s Department of Food Science, who will discuss research in detecting and treating waterborne pathogens that can impact the food system.

- Dr. Tongzhe Li, professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) and the inaugural Arrell Family Chair in Behavioural and Experimental Economics, who will share insights from research conducted on consumer preferences toward growing fresh foods using recycled irrigation water.

- Dr. Hugh Simpson, researcher at the Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute, who will discuss private water wells and their importance to local food. Simpson is currently working on a project with U of G researchers to examine the needs of the rural community for guidance about private water wells for agricultural, business and domestic purposes.

The event took place at the Anita Stewart Memorial Food Lab in the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics.This World Food Day 2023 event was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in partnership with: Food Tank, Driscoll’s, WholeChain, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University. and in collaboration with: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Arrell Food Institute, Compass Group Canada.

Thanks to the Arrell Food Institute for permission to air this recording. First aired in 2024.

https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/

https://www.fao.org/world-food-day/en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8vAPL48kaI

Wrapping up our Stories of Regeneration tour, we land in Ottawa at Just Food Community Farm, a 150-acre farmstead located in Ottawa’s Greenbelt that is championing small-scale, viable agriculture businesses and initiatives like Chi Garden and Urban Fresh Produce.

Dedicated to cultivating a thriving local food economy and sustainable farming sector, Just Food integrates agroecology-based conservation with land stewardship. The farm is a testament to how community-led initiatives can redefine our food systems, offering food sovereignty for all, including newcomers to Canada. Its Start-up Farm Program addresses the critical barrier of land access, turning aspiring individuals into farmers and fostering community regeneration.

Highlighting this unique model, Chadwick Lewis (Urban Fresh Produce) and Sun Shan (Chi Garden), participants of the program, share their experiences in our series finale, underscoring the farm’s role in sustainable agriculture and community building.

Thanks to Regeneration Canada and Rural Routes to Climate Solutions for partnering to air this episode on Food Farm Talk and CFRU.

If you want to learn more, we recommend you check out the following:

 Our Farmers Blog shares stories about Alberta farmers who do an exceptional job of caring for the land, producing food, and building up their communities.

This podcast has been partially funded by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.

On this stop in the Stories of Regeneration tour, we returned to Alberta, making a stop at Peony Farms in Lacombe.

Facing his daughter’s health issues, rancher Craig Cameron and his family turned to regenerative farming to grow the healthiest food possible for her. Craig, alongside his father-in-law Peter DenOudsten, shifted their traditional beef farm to a regenerative model. They now grow over 10 types of grass and clover, use less fertilizer, and produce some of the healthiest, most nutritious beef you can find.

If you want to learn more, we recommend you check out the following:

Our Farmers Blog shares stories about Alberta farmers who do an exceptional job of caring for the land, producing food, and building up their communities.

This podcast has been partially funded by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

In this episode, we’ll be doing some exploration into the relationship between society and regenerative agriculture and how one can help advance the other. But the real meat and potatoes of the last three episodes, just like in all the other episodes in this series, will be about getting to know and understand the boots on the ground folks who are leading the way on this change that we are seeing in the agriculture sector.

Meet Rebecca Harbut and Mike Bomford from Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in Richmond, BC—prime examples of such trailblazers. Now, you might wonder, how do university professors fit the description of being ‘on the ground’? Well, let me tell you, KPU isn’t just any university; it boasts a farm that lies at the heart of Rebecca and Mike’s endeavors.

Moreover, as we’ve touched upon throughout this podcast series, with Canada’s population nearing the 40 million mark, farm and ranch operators, along with farm laborers, represent a mere fraction—around 1%—of the populace. The takeaway here? It’s going to require a collective effort, involving many of us outside the traditional farming community, to partner with that crucial 1%. This collaboration is key to expanding regenerative agriculture from a niche practice to a widespread one.

If you want to learn more, we recommend you check out the following:

Our Farmers Blog shares stories about Alberta farmers who do an exceptional job of caring for the land, producing food, and building up their communities.

This podcast has been partially funded by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada

During the growing season of 2023 as summer turned into fall, the Rural Routes to Climate Solutions podcast and Regeneration Canada were on the final leg of the Stories of Regeneration tour. After covering most of the Prairies and most of central and eastern Canada in the summer, our months-long journey came to an end in Canada’s two most western provinces around harvest time.

This next phase of our journey brought us to Cawston, British Columbia, acclaimed as the Organic Farming Capital of Canada. At Snowy Mountain Farms, managed by Aaron Goddard and his family, you will find a 12-acre farm that boasts over 70 varieties of fruits such as cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, pears, apples, and quince. Aaron employs regenerative agriculture practices to cultivate and sustain living soils, which are essential for producing fruit that is not only delicious but also rich in nutrients.

Highlights:

3:20 – Aaron talks about his farm.

5:55 – Aaron shares the story of how he got into agriculture.

8:34 – Aaron talks about his family and farmhands.

13:56 – When was the first time Aaron heard about regenerative agriculture?

21:02 – Aaron describes the landscape of Snowy Mountain Farms.

28:27 – Why is diversity important?

42:50 – What is Aaron doing to help stimulate fungal growth in the soil?

51:08 – Aaron talks about how, and why, he’s integrated livestock on his farm.

52:43 – What are some challenges Aaron faces as an agriculture producer?

56:04 – Why is regenerative agriculture important to Aaron?

This podcast has been partially funded by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.

IFAD-Agriculture’s Indigenous trailblazers

2023 was a challenging year for Canadian farmers and ranchers and for humanity in general. We had droughts, wildfires, floods, an affordability crisis and a number of armed conflicts. According to scientists working with the European Union, 2023 smashed temperature records globally.

And yet, someone like Nova Scotia organic and biodynamic wine producer, Rachel Lightfoot still finds ways of being optimistic even after her farm got hit by a polar vortex, a dry spring and a very rainy summer all in the same year.

Welcome to Stories of Regeneration, a podcast series brought to you by Rural Routes to Climate Solutions and Regeneration Canada. Join me, your host Derek Leahy, as we delve into the importance of supporting an agricultural system that not only prioritizes the health of our land and ecosystems but also ensures the sustainability of our farmers and ranchers. Get ready to explore the transformative power of regenerative agriculture.

If you want to learn more, we recommend you check out the following:

Our Farmers Blog shares stories about Alberta farmers who do an exceptional job of caring for the land, producing food, and building up their communities.

This podcast has been partially funded by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada