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Canada is a nation that has an abundance of resources especially when in food. Canada is the world’s fifth largest exporter of food. Our nation’s agricultural industry employs 2.2 million people (1 in 8 jobs in Canada) mostly concentrated in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. Canada is also the world’s largest exporter when it comes to flax seed, canola, pulses and durum wheat. Sadly so much labour, energy and resources go to vain due to the levels of waste being so high. Approximately 40% of food produced in Canada is squandered which is approximately $31 billion worth of food as of 2013.We shall explore ways to promote a lifestyle with less food waste as well as finding ways to motivate businesses to waste less food. Our group will also be talking about the issues around modern agriculture and how to make it more sustainable and limit the amount of energy and fossil fuels consumed in growing our food. We will talk about the main problems associated with industrial agriculture and ways to solve and greatly reduce or eliminate the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides that are harmful to the environment by working with nature as opposed to against it.
In order to go to the root of the problem and come up with possible solutions we have come up with a few inquiry questions:
How does food waste connect to Climate Change and Carbon Footprint?
How Can Consumers Minimize the Threat of Food Insecurity Whilst Enabling Businesses to Maximize Their Profits?
What can be changed about modern agriculture to make it more sustainable?
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7 Comment(s)
This was a really enlightening and put together post. It was simple and to the point, but still highlighted many important aspects of your topic; I found it quite informative. Fun fact(ish?) about pesticides, I've heard from an individual who works in the agricultural industry in Alberta that, surprisingly, only ten grams of pesticide (I believe it was pesticide at least, though it may have been herbicide or the like) is actually used in a football field's worth of crops. I was amazed about how little is actually used and I hope this information helps you in some way. d(O.o)b
Hi Daniel, I find it interesting how food waste and food security connect to climate change and am curious about how future changes in food technologies and infrastructure will make our food resources become more sustainable and decrease the carbon footprint of the industry. Also, after reading your blog, I think you should answer your inquiry questions and continue investigating about food security and food waste in Canada with respect to climate change. It seems that food relates to many other industries and infrastructures such as waste, energy, and, technology. Therefore, I encourage you to look at some of the other issues that climate change is causing and see if there are any crossovers between the topics. My inquiry question is about energy infrastructure and I would like to see if any connections between food and it can be drawn. For example, both Canada’s food resources and energy infrastructure will be put under stress from the issues created by climate change. Also, both the food and energy industry are creating GHGs and contributing to Canada’s carbon footprint. I look forward to seeing what other information you find and the conclusions you come to.
-Stuart Dietrich
Hey Daniel, what an awesome post! Wow, I am impressed with the knowledge that you have used on this blog, you seem like a very knowledgeable person. Great work on the research that you have done in order to create awareness, this blog will help many others. I would strongly encourage you to see if you can come up with the answers to those questions that you have provided. Those answers will be key data to the analysis that you may provide for others. My research topic is about the importance of animals, they play a significant role to the health of our environment. Did you know that bee's are responsible for 1/3rd of our food? Although out topic is not the exact same, it is still to the benefit of the environment. Keep up the good work and I hope to read some of your future blogs!
Hi Daniel,
It seems that modern agricultural practices promote GHG’s in our atmosphere. It is important to avoid the usage of chemical such as pesticides to keep our food fresh . I strongly suggest you dug deep into this question to provide some resolutions to it, as many are as curious as you are to how modern agriculture can be more sustainable. In this age of time, there may possibly be a link with technology to help attain more sustainable agricultural practices to reduce environmental damages. Though our inquiry questions differ; mine dealing with transportation (infrastructure) in regards to climate change, both questions regard a more sustainable environment. Below is a source that will further your knowledge on this topic, potentially allowing you to come up with a viable answer to this question.
http://yara.com/media/stories/environmentally_friendly_farming.aspx
To answer your second question, I heard that a grocery store (I think Loblaws) has started selling its ugly fruits and vegetables instead of throwing it out in order to maximize their profits and reduce food waste.
Hey Daniel + group (how privileged you are to have Oarack Bobama on your team!),
Here are a few resources to kickstart your Inquiries:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/03/14/que...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-walmar...
I'll be looking out for what you come up with in your Inquiries.
Cheers!
Jessica (program assistant @ GreenLearning)
That's some good content right there.
Cheers
Thank you for your generous insight and feedback. It is extremely appreciated that you took the time out of your day to respond to our hard work and effort.
Love Oarack Bobama
Mir Ziemkiewicz
Mar 28, 2017