Food for Thought Lecture Series

September – November, 19h00-20h00 EDT

Our annual Food for Thought Public Lecture Series is entering its 23rd season of bringing timely science topics to the community: our neighbours, alumni, students, staff and faculty!

We are happy to be back in person on Macdonald Campus for this year’s lecture series. To accommodate all of our audience members and in an abundance of caution, all lectures will also be streamed online.

Let us know if you would like to be added to our mailing list – fft.macdonald@mcgill.ca

This year’s theme:
“The Food-Water-Energy Nexus: Dignified lives for billions on a finite planet”

September 7, 2022, 19h00-20h00 EDT
Building Community from Indigenous Food Security

Presented in conjunction with the A. Jean de Grandpré Distinguished Speaker Series

The 2022 A. Jean de Grandpré Lecture will welcome Raven Swamp, Turtle Clan of Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, Greenhouse Facilitator at Karonhianónhnha Tsi Ionterihwaienstáhkhwa and the co-founder of the grassroots initiative the Kahnawà:ke Community Garden. She will be presenting her talk entitled “Building Community from Indigenous Food Security”. The session will be moderated by Dr. Murray Humphries from the department of Natural Resource Sciences.

September 21, 2022, 19h00 – 20h00 EDT
Food Sovereignty: Promoting Indigenous Food systems and well-being

Speaker: Dr Treena Wasonti:io Delormier, Associate Professor, School of Human Nutrition and Associate Director, Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition & Environment
Dr Delormier is Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Kahnawake Territory, Canada. She holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in nutrition from McGill University, PhD in Public Health (Health Promotion) from Université de Montréal and is a registered dietitian. She has been involved in the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project and is a member on the International Union of Nutrition Sciences Task Force on Traditional, Indigenous and Cultural Food and Nutrition. Her research focuses on food, nutrition and health, indigenous and social perspectives of food, indigenous and qualitative research methodologies, public health and health promotion, food security, and traditional food systems.

October 5, 2022, 19h00-20h00 EDT
Connecting the dots for a sustainable healthy diet culture: The role of an industry-consumer nexus

Speaker: Dr Ebenezer Miezah Kwofie, Assistant Professor and Co-Director, Integrated Food and Bioprocess Engineering Program, Bioresource Engineering Department
Ebenezer Miezah Kwofie is an assistant professor and co-director of the Integrated Food and Bioprocess Engineering Program at the Bioresource Engineering Department, McGill University. He received the 2021 Distinguished Young Alumni Award, Macdonald Campus, McGill University. Dr Kwofie’s research explores the dynamics and trade-offs of environmental, economic, and product-process quality to address food system sustainability and resilience. His current research focuses on industrial eco-efficiency optimization through life cycle sustainability assessments; circular bioeconomy pathways analysis; and consumer-focused decision support systems for promoting sustainable and healthy food choices.

October 17, 2022, 10h00-11h30 EDT
World Food Day in collaboration with the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security presents

Repositioning Communication in Food and Nutrition Security

Speaker: Denyse Mariella Johnston, Development Communication Consultant
Denyse Mariella Johnston, a national of Trinidad and Tobago, has been involved in development communication throughout the English-speaking Caribbean for over 30 years. She trained in general agriculture and agriculture extension at the University of the West Indies before going on the develop communication skills in England at Ian Macdonald and Associates, rural development at the University of Reading in England, and strategic communication planning at Malmö University in Sweden. Her interest in development has led her to expand beyond agriculture into the education, health and nutrition sectors. Denyse has worked with national, regional and international organizations helping to facilitate communication among scientists and with various stakeholders, including food producers and processors, donors and government officials responsible for policy development. She believes that well-planned, strategic communication is a key ingredient in the success of any development initiative.

Presentation Synopsis

Communication is often an afterthought in development projects. This seemingly simple omission can have a substantial impact on success outcomes. However, greater relevance, efficiency and effectiveness can be achieved by recognising the fundamental role of communication and repositioning it as an integral component of planning, development and implementation. Denyse Mariella Johnston will explore food and nutrition security in 2022, and how a communication perspective can facilitate efforts to address hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

November 2, 2022, 19h00 – 20h00 EDT
Regenerative Agriculture and Water

Speaker: Dr Caroline Begg, Faculty Lecturer, Plant Science

Caroline Begg, PhD, is a Faculty Lecturer in Plant Science (McGill), Director of Internship (FMT) and co-director of the Barbados Interdisciplinary Tropical Studies program. Caroline conducts research on food security in the West Island and on ecological agriculture practices focusing on soil health, microbes and crops and their interactions with the environment. Caroline has received awards for teaching courses both at the degree and the college level. She also supervises 10-15 undergraduate projects per year. She is a steering committee member for the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security (McGill). She is a mentor to the Macdonald Student-Run Ecological Garden (MSEG). Caroline is president of the Marché Ste Anne, co-founder and vice president of École-O-Champ and president of Neighbourhood Farm Schools in BC.

November 16, 2022, 19h00-20h00 EDT
TBD

Speaker: Dr Mary Doidge

November 30, 2022, 19h00-20h00 EDT
TBD

Speaker: Dr Brittany Wenniserí:iostha Jock (TO BE CONFIRMED)