Food for Thought: New lecture series on food, agriculture and the environment at UU直播
Want to learn more about what you eat and what you drink? Attend the following UU直播 lectures to discover the latest on nutrition and the environment. Please note all talks are from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Macdonald-Stewart Complex, Room R2-046, Macdonald Campus, (21111 Lakeshore), Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. For more information, please call 514-398-7851.
There Goes the Rain Forest
October 1: Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are rising and global climate is changing. What will be the impacts of these changes, and how can we adapt to them? Plants remove about 15 percent of the atmosphere's carbon dioxide each year. Could they be managed to reduce accumulation of this most important greenhouse gas? Speakers: Professor Nigel Roulet, Department of Geography; UU直播 Centre for Climate and Global Change Research Professor Ian Strachan, Department of Natural Resource Sciences; UU直播 Centre for Climate and Global Change Research.
Today's Water Crisis; Tomorrow's Water Scarcity and Management
October 15: Water scarcity, water pollution, destruction of ecosystems, loss of wet-lands and potential conflicts among states are real and creating socio-economic and political tensions around the world. What can be done today to ensure safe clean water tomorrow? Speaker: Professor Chandra Madramootoo, director, Brace Centre for Water Resources Management.
Desert or Dessert?
October 29: Can global biodiversity be conserved in the face of ever increasing habitat destruction associated with food production and increasing population pressure? Can wild places and species co-exist with agriculture? Wild species are an important source of genetic diversity for agriculture, can we afford to loose them? Speakers: Professor Sylvie deBlois, Plant Science Department and Ms. Michelle Gauthier, program officer on Agro-biodiversity, UN Biodiversity Secretariat.
A Place at the Table for Everyone:
November 12: World population will continue to rise for the first part of this century. The "green revolution" increased food production by 2.5 fold during the last 50 years by increasing use of irrigation and fertilizer and through plant breeding. However, exploitation of these three technologies has been largely exhausted. At the same time, current agricultural practices are damaging to the environment. Can we find a way to increase global agricultural productivity and reduce the environmental impacts associated with it? Speaker: Professor Don Smith, Plant Science Department.
But is it Good to Eat?
November 26: How confident can we be of the quality of the food on our plate? Can science improve food? Almost all our food has been processed in some way and reaches us through a long chain from the field to the supermarket shelf. Recent food scares, from E. coli to Salmonella, from mad cow disease to genetically modified "frankenfoods" have reduced confidence in our food supply. Speakers: Katherine Gray-Donald, director, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition and Professor Inteaz Alli, Chair, Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Professor Peter Jones, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition.
