Food Security in Canada: A Public Health and Policy Perspective
Details
- October 4, 2022
-
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm EDT
- What are the social, environmental and economic factors that cause and exacerbate food insecurity?
- What are the profound impacts of food insecurity and how do these affect diverse societies in Canada?
- How can adaptation and educational initiatives help communities battle food insecurity?
- Which policy proposals can help mitigate Canadians’ struggles with food insecurity–particularly initiatives that support low-income and marginalized communities?
- Issues:
- Climate & EnvironmentEconomic DevelopmentFoodHealthSustainable Development
Food Security in Canada: A Public Health and Policy Perspective
Did you know that 1 in 8 Canadian households are fighting food insecurity?
Food insecurity in Canada is a serious public health problem that has worsened due to the cumulative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and socioeconomic factors. This inability to acquire or consume a culturally-appropriate diet of sufficient quantity or quality disproportionately affects vulnerable groups like the elderly, people with disabilities, visible minorities, Indigenous people, and children. Greater public awareness and ambitious policy solutions are necessary to combat this challenge.
Find out what can be done to help during the next SPE Public Forum: Food Security in Canada. Join us and three expert panelists for this interactive forum event to learn and discuss the impact of food security in Canada from research, social, policy, and other perspectives!
When: October 4th, 2022, at 6:00 pm EST
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free!
Our quest begins with the following questions:
Please join us and ask your own questions to our high-profile panelists! They are:
Dr. Erna van Duren, University of Guelph
Erna is a Professor in the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph. Her long standing interest in food and resources stems from an early interest in food security and sustainability. Her research interests include food security, value chains, competitiveness of the food industry, sustainability and corporate social responsibility in the food and resource industries. She was part of the team that developed the University of Guelph’s industry focused MBA, and has taught and advised at the graduate level. She has worked with industry and organizations on policy and economic analysis and strategy development. She has published cases, journal articles and research monographs, and has developed distance learning courses and a textbook. Her article “Van Duren, Erna et. al. Forging Vertical Strategic Alliances, in the Best of Choices, 1996, was selected as one of the best 10 articles of the decade to be published in the American Agricultural Economics Association’s Policy Journal.
Dr. Gisèle Yasmeen, University of British Columbia
Gisèle Yasmeen is senior Fellow at School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia (UBC) where she was appointed in 2014. Her expertise is on food-systems in Asia, on which she has published and consulted widely since the early 1990s with both Canadian and international clients. She is also affiliated with the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security at McGill University where she also sits on the advisory committee. Gisèle is an experienced senior federal government and not-for-profit executive and has served on numerous boards of directors and is currently a Director of Farm Radio International, Équiterre and the Association of Canadian Studies. She provides regular media commentary in English and French and has studied Spanish, Thai, Urdu and Mandarin. Gisèle has a Ph.D. from UBC, a master’s from McGill and a BA Honors from the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Peter Berry, Health Canada and University of Waterloo
Dr. Peter Berry has been working at Health Canada on climate change issues since 2000. In this role he is currently Senior Policy Analyst and Science Advisor to the Director at the Climate Change and Innovation Bureau. He also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. Peter is also involved in a number of collaborations to plan for climate change impacts including with the World Meteorological Organization’s Study Group on Integrated Climate and Health Services to develop climate and health information utilization strategies and Health Canada’s HealthADAPT initiative assisting health authorities across Canada assess climate risks to health and develop adaptation plans. Most recently Peter was co-editor and author for the national assessment Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action, served on the Health Advisory Table of the National Adaptation Strategy and as a Science Advisory Group member for supporting development of Canada’s Climate Change Science Plan 2050.
And moderating the event:
Farzaneh Barak, McGill University
Farzaneh is a doctoral candidate in the School of Human Nutrition at McGill University, affiliated with McGill’s Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security. Her research focuses on the intersections between food security, women’s empowerment, equity, and policy, using a gender lens. Farzaneh has over a decade of national and international academic research and professional experience in public health nutrition and food security, including her doctoral project working with fishing communities in Uganda, Africa. She is currently collaborating with Food Secure Canada as a research consultant. Farzaneh aims to combine her practical and theoretical expertise to work toward equity and justice in achieving food security through providing research-based policy solutions.
Location of the event
Food Security in Canada: A Public Health and Policy Perspective
Did you know that 1 in 8 Canadian households are fighting food insecurity?
Food insecurity in Canada is a serious public health problem that has worsened due to the cumulative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and socioeconomic factors. This inability to acquire or consume a culturally-appropriate diet of sufficient quantity or quality disproportionately affects vulnerable groups like the elderly, people with disabilities, visible minorities, Indigenous people, and children. Greater public awareness and ambitious policy solutions are necessary to combat this challenge.
Find out what can be done to help during the next SPE Public Forum: Food Security in Canada. Join us and three expert panelists for this interactive forum event to learn and discuss the impact of food security in Canada from research, social, policy, and other perspectives!
When: October 4th, 2022, at 6:00 pm EST
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free!
Our quest begins with the following questions:
- What are the social, environmental and economic factors that cause and exacerbate food insecurity?
- What are the profound impacts of food insecurity and how do these affect diverse societies in Canada?
- How can adaptation and educational initiatives help communities battle food insecurity?
- Which policy proposals can help mitigate Canadians’ struggles with food insecurity–particularly initiatives that support low-income and marginalized communities?
Please join us and ask your own questions to our high-profile panelists! They are:
Dr. Erna van Duren, University of Guelph
Erna is a Professor in the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph. Her long standing interest in food and resources stems from an early interest in food security and sustainability. Her research interests include food security, value chains, competitiveness of the food industry, sustainability and corporate social responsibility in the food and resource industries. She was part of the team that developed the University of Guelph’s industry focused MBA, and has taught and advised at the graduate level. She has worked with industry and organizations on policy and economic analysis and strategy development. She has published cases, journal articles and research monographs, and has developed distance learning courses and a textbook. Her article “Van Duren, Erna et. al. Forging Vertical Strategic Alliances, in the Best of Choices, 1996, was selected as one of the best 10 articles of the decade to be published in the American Agricultural Economics Association’s Policy Journal.
Dr. Gisèle Yasmeen, University of British Columbia
Gisèle Yasmeen is senior Fellow at School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia (UBC) where she was appointed in 2014. Her expertise is on food-systems in Asia, on which she has published and consulted widely since the early 1990s with both Canadian and international clients. She is also affiliated with the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security at McGill University where she also sits on the advisory committee. Gisèle is an experienced senior federal government and not-for-profit executive and has served on numerous boards of directors and is currently a Director of Farm Radio International, Équiterre and the Association of Canadian Studies. She provides regular media commentary in English and French and has studied Spanish, Thai, Urdu and Mandarin. Gisèle has a Ph.D. from UBC, a master’s from McGill and a BA Honors from the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Peter Berry, Health Canada and University of Waterloo
Dr. Peter Berry has been working at Health Canada on climate change issues since 2000. In this role he is currently Senior Policy Analyst and Science Advisor to the Director at the Climate Change and Innovation Bureau. He also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. Peter is also involved in a number of collaborations to plan for climate change impacts including with the World Meteorological Organization’s Study Group on Integrated Climate and Health Services to develop climate and health information utilization strategies and Health Canada’s HealthADAPT initiative assisting health authorities across Canada assess climate risks to health and develop adaptation plans. Most recently Peter was co-editor and author for the national assessment Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action, served on the Health Advisory Table of the National Adaptation Strategy and as a Science Advisory Group member for supporting development of Canada’s Climate Change Science Plan 2050.
And moderating the event:
Farzaneh Barak, McGill University
Farzaneh is a doctoral candidate in the School of Human Nutrition at McGill University, affiliated with McGill’s Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security. Her research focuses on the intersections between food security, women’s empowerment, equity, and policy, using a gender lens. Farzaneh has over a decade of national and international academic research and professional experience in public health nutrition and food security, including her doctoral project working with fishing communities in Uganda, Africa. She is currently collaborating with Food Secure Canada as a research consultant. Farzaneh aims to combine her practical and theoretical expertise to work toward equity and justice in achieving food security through providing research-based policy solutions.