Stephanie Bishop, a graduate student in chemistry at UBC Okanagan, holds a sample from Lake Winnipeg.

Toxin found in Cyanobacteria during periods of bloom

A new study from UBC’s Okanagan campus has found that BMAA—a toxin linked to several neurodegenerative diseases—is present in high concentrations during cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Winnipeg.

“Cyanobacteria blooms have become increasingly common in Lake Winnipeg since the 1990s,” says Susan Murch, associate professor of chemistry at UBC Okanagan and study lead author. “These bacteria have also been known to produce BMAA under the right conditions and we wanted to establish whether this could be happening in one of Canada’s largest and most important freshwater lakes.”

Murch says BMAA has been associated with everything from Alzheimer’s to ALS and can have serious public health implications if it permeates food and water supplies.

“It’s very difficult to detect BMAA directly in water samples using current methods,” says Stephanie Bishop, a graduate student in chemistry at UBC Okanagan and study co-author. “We decided to look for its presence in the cyanobacteria itself using samples collected from across the lake with the help of our partners from the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium.”

Murch and Bishop analyzed samples collected in July and September of 2016 and found that BMAA was present in highest concentrations in the areas of the bloom that are impacted by pollution and farming.

“Agricultural and human activities along with factors like climate change are very likely behind the increased size and frequency of blooms,” Murch adds. “We now know that with these blooms comes the very real risk of increased exposure to BMAA and the public health impacts that follow.”

She warns that cyanobacterial blooms are not isolated to Lake Winnipeg and that she would expect to see similar results in other freshwater lakes.

“We’re seeing a greater number of blooms in lakes in both the US and Canada. Especially in the Great Lakes region,” she says. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see BMAA in cyanobacteria from lakes that serve a huge number of people.”

“We hope that an increased awareness of risks of BMAA along with a better understanding of the human impacts on algal blooms will help us better manage the potential consequences to public health.”

Susan Much is an associate professor of chemistry at UBC Okanagan.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

The post UBC Okanagan researchers discover neurotoxin in Lake Winnipeg appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

UBC Okanagan is embarking on the largest fundraising campaign for students in its 12-year history. The Blue & Gold Campaign for Students aims to raise $100 million across both UBC campuses over three years to give promising students access to a life-changing education.

“Donors in the Okanagan have already played a crucial role in building our campus and shaping what it is today,” says Deborah Buszard, Deputy Vice-chancellor and Principal of UBC’s Okanagan campus. “We are equally committed to building greater supports for students to ensure the best and the brightest from near and far have access to a world-class education right here in the Okanagan, regardless of financial circumstances.”

The Blue & Gold Campaign for Students will support a range of student awards, including scholarships, bursaries, and experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. The awards will support students in need, students from under-represented communities, and leadership-based awards.

Tushar Dave, a recipient of the Deepak Binning Foundation Community Builder Scholarship and now a third-year undergraduate in medical biochemistry and molecular biology at UBC Okanagan, is one student who is benefitting from a UBC donor-funded award.

“The biggest factor for me was getting a UBC education here at home. I live in Kelowna and it is wonderful for me to have a UBC world-class education at my doorstep” said Dave. “Scholarships allow me to focus on what matters most: my studies. It’s important to continue supporting students so that we can give back to our communities. So that we can go to work and actually make a change in the world.”

Haley Seven Deers, a third-year history and anthropology student at UBC Okanagan, is another.

“These awards are truly life-changing for students,” said Seven Deers, who received a UBC Okanagan Aboriginal Entrance Award. “Every bit, no matter how small or large that you donate is going to have a huge impact on people’s lives. And not just on the students, but on all the people they will affect later in their careers. It’s such a beautiful thing that has such a far-reaching impact within society.”

UBC is providing matching funds of up to $5 million for new endowed donations to select Blue & Gold campaign priorities, which include bursaries and renewable entrance awards for students with high academic standing, known as Presidential Scholars, as well as for outstanding students recognized for their achievement and leadership who demonstrate financial need.

The campaign will also focus on the graduate student experience including opportunities to pursue research in collaboration with community partners and organizations to provide real-life applications for public benefit.

“The student awards that I have received have really helped me to focus my time and energy on engaging with communities in a meaningful way and also to focus on field work,” said Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz, a graduate student who studies wildfires at UBC in Vancouver. “My dream for the future is to help enable communities to co-exist with wildfire. Fire isn’t going away, but our people and our landscapes can be more resilient to fire and learn how to co-exist with it better.”

For information about the Blue & Gold Campaign for Students, visit: support.ubc.ca/blueandgold

UBC’s Blue and Gold fundraising campaign for students kicked-off at the university on November 27 to a capacity crowd.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

The post UBC announces $100-million fundraising campaign to help students appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Wesley Zandberg, assistant professor of chemistry at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

New, highly accurate test offers results in hours rather than in days

Wine producers and grape growers have a new, powerful tool at their disposal to help manage the impact of grapes exposed to smoke from forest fires.

Researchers from UBC’s Okanagan campus have devised a new analytical test to precisely and accurately measure the amount of volatile phenols–compounds absorbed by grapes when exposed to smoke that can impact wine flavour–that are present in the fruit prior to wine production.

“Until now, detecting these smoky compounds in grapes required fermenting a small sample over at least ten days and relying on subjective measures like taste and odour,” says Wesley Zandberg, assistant professor of chemistry at UBC’s Okanagan campus. “We’ve developed a test that detects the exact amount of volatile phenols present in the grape. There’s no need to ferment them first and we get results within a matter of hours.”

According to Zandberg, wine grapes that are exposed to smoke from wildfires absorb and metabolize volatile phenols in their skin, which may affect the taste of the wine later on. He says wine producers and grape growers utilizing subjective measures currently have to wait one or two weeks to find out if their grapes are suitable for wine-making. Meanwhile, costs and risk mount as their crops sit on the vine.

“By accurately and quickly measuring the presence of volatile phenols, we’re offering a much better tool to help vineyards and wineries manage the risk from smoke exposure,” says Zandberg. “By knowing precisely whether and by how much each crop has been impacted by smoke exposure, growers and winemakers alike can make informed decisions about whether the grapes should be used or abandoned altogether.”

Zandberg and his PhD student Matthew Noestheden, working in collaboration with several local vineyards and a Kelowna-based analytical company Supra Research and Development, have developed their test after a thorough review of all scientific literature on how Vitis vinifera–the plant that produces wine grapes–absorbs and metabolizes the smoky-flavoured compounds. They then used a series of chemical techniques to isolate the metabolized volatile phenols and measure them to a high degree of accuracy.

But Zandberg is also quick to point out that many wines are aged in smoked oak barrels that contain volatile phenols, so their presence is not necessarily a bad thing.

“We can also apply our technique after the grapes have been fermented and aged to measure phenol levels in the wine itself. This could be hugely beneficial in helping winemakers determine whether wines have enough smoky compounds to match their desired flavour profile after aging in smoked barrels.”

The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and was supported by funding from Mitacs, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council and the British Columbia Grape Council.

PhD student Matthew Noestheden.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

The post UBC researchers create definitive method to detect wildfire tainted wine grapes appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Assoc. Prof. Zach Walsh.

Illicit substances may be effective interventions to crime

Newly published research suggests that common psychedelic drugs—such as magic mushrooms, LSD and mescaline (a substance derived from the peyote cactus)—may reduce criminal offences.

The new study, co-authored by UBC Okanagan’s Associate Professor of Psychology Zach Walsh, found that psychedelic drugs are associated with a decreased likelihood of antisocial criminal behaviour.

“These findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that use of classic psychedelics may have positive effects for reducing antisocial behaviour,” said Walsh. “They certainly highlight the need for further research into the potentially beneficial effects of these stigmatized substances for both individual and public health.”

Lead author, University of Alabama Assoc. Prof. Peter Hendricks, used data obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to explore the connection between the use of classic psychedelic substances and criminal behaviour among more than 480,000 American adult respondents from the past 13 years.

Key findings of the study are that respondents who have used psychedelic drugs had 27 per cent decreased odds of larceny or theft, and 22 per cent decreased odds of arrest for a violent crime in the past year. At the same time, lifetime use of other illicit substances was generally associated with increased odds of criminal behaviour.

Hendricks says that psilocybin and related compounds could revolutionize the mental health field.

“The development of innovative and effective interventions to prevent criminal behaviour is an obvious priority,” Hendricks adds. “Our findings suggest the protective effects of classic psychedelic use are attributable to genuine reductions in antisocial behaviour rather than reflecting improved evasion of arrest. Simply put, the positive effects associated with classic psychedelic use appear to be reliable. Given the costs of criminal behaviour, the potential represented by this treatment paradigm is significant.”

Walsh points out that research on the benefits of psychedelic drugs started decades ago, primarily to treat mental illness. However, it was stopped due to the reclassification of the drugs to controlled substances in the mid-1970s. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in psychedelic medicine.

“More research is needed to figure out what factors underlie these effects,” Walsh says. “But the experiences of unity, positivity and transcendence that characterize the psychedelic experience may have lasting benefits that translate into real-world consequences.”

The research was recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

The post New study suggests psychedelic drugs may reduce criminal behaviour appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Assoc. Prof. Zach Walsh.

Illicit substances may be effective interventions to crime

Newly published research suggests that common psychedelic drugs—such as magic mushrooms, LSD and mescaline (a substance derived from the peyote cactus)—may reduce criminal offences.

The new study, co-authored by UBC Okanagan’s Associate Professor of Psychology Zach Walsh, found that psychedelic drugs are associated with a decreased likelihood of antisocial criminal behaviour.

“These findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that use of classic psychedelics may have positive effects for reducing antisocial behaviour,” said Walsh. “They certainly highlight the need for further research into the potentially beneficial effects of these stigmatized substances for both individual and public health.”

Lead author, University of Alabama Assoc. Prof. Peter Hendricks, used data obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to explore the connection between the use of classic psychedelic substances and criminal behaviour among more than 480,000 American adult respondents from the past 13 years.

Key findings of the study are that respondents who have used psychedelic drugs had 27 per cent decreased odds of larceny or theft, and 22 per cent decreased odds of arrest for a violent crime in the past year. At the same time, lifetime use of other illicit substances was generally associated with increased odds of criminal behaviour.

Hendricks says that psilocybin and related compounds could revolutionize the mental health field.

“The development of innovative and effective interventions to prevent criminal behaviour is an obvious priority,” Hendricks adds. “Our findings suggest the protective effects of classic psychedelic use are attributable to genuine reductions in antisocial behaviour rather than reflecting improved evasion of arrest. Simply put, the positive effects associated with classic psychedelic use appear to be reliable. Given the costs of criminal behaviour, the potential represented by this treatment paradigm is significant.”

Walsh points out that research on the benefits of psychedelic drugs started decades ago, primarily to treat mental illness. However, it was stopped due to the reclassification of the drugs to controlled substances in the mid-1970s. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in psychedelic medicine.

“More research is needed to figure out what factors underlie these effects,” Walsh says. “But the experiences of unity, positivity and transcendence that characterize the psychedelic experience may have lasting benefits that translate into real-world consequences.”

The research was recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

The post New study suggests psychedelic drugs may reduce criminal behaviour appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Cannabis flower. Credit: Antoine Collet/Flickr

Partnership with licenced industry grower expands research potential

Researchers at UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers University have teamed up with an industry partner to investigate the many useful products that can be made from cannabis.

Dubbed the Cannabis Bio-products Toolbox, the collaborative research project will explore the vast range of bioproducts that can be made from the plant—these include pharmaceuticals, nutritional products, and industrial fibre.

“Cannabis is a source of many potentially valuable products,” says UBC Okanagan biology professor Michael Deyholos. “But because of its prohibition over the past decades, development of new products from cannabis has lagged behind other crops.”

Deyholos, whose research explores the potential of flax and hemp, says on the medicinal side of cannabis there are dozens of compounds in the plant that may have specific health benefits. The researchers want to breed strains that are enriched in various combinations of these compounds, tailored to needs of specific patients.

“Besides these pharmaceutical compounds, there are healthful oils and proteins in the seed that we would like to enrich,” he adds. “All of this requires a better understanding of the genes and chemicals already present in different strains of cannabis, and that is what this project is designed to do.”

Deyholos says while cannabis is best known as a source of THC—the principal psychoactive ingredient—the plant produces at least 90 other cannabinoids, many of which have potent biological activities. Some of these compounds are being examined for the treatment of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and other serious health conditions.

“Our team has experience in the characterization of a range of relevant biosynthetic pathways in cannabis stems, flax seeds, and terpenoid-producing tissues of lavender,” he adds.

Deyholos is joined by UBC Okanagan biology professor Soheil Mahmoud—who studies the potential of lavender, UBC chemistry professor Paul Shipley—whose lab examines the chemistry of medicinal plants, and Thompson Rivers University chemistry professor Bruno Cinel —a natural products chemist who specializes in the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for structural determination and chemical analysis. Together with a team of post-doctorate fellows and graduate students, they will work at the laboratories of industrial-based companies Valens AgriTech and Supra THC Services—both of which are fully licensed by Health Canada to conduct research and analysis on cannabis plants and byproducts.

Deyholos notes that neither university has a licence to grow or store cannabis on campus but the industrial partner has facilities and licenses to grow more than 4,000 plants for research purposes.

“The facilities available at Valens Agritech and the analytical capabilities of Supra THC Services are truly state-of-the-art,” he says. “Having access to properly licensed facilities within an industrial setting will enable our talented interns to gain critical skills in a rapidly growing industry.”

Work at the industrial site will be supervised by Rob O’Brien and Yasantha Athukorala.

“It is an honour to be associated with such a collection of accomplished scientists,” says Valens AgriTech President and Chief Science Officer O’Brien. “The research derived from this funding will provide insights into the complexity of gene expression in cannabis and will help produce new varieties that can have a greater health impact.”

The Cannabis Bio-products Toolbox was awarded a three-year $330,000 Mitacs research grant.

About Valens AgriTech, Supra THC Services and Valens GroWorks Corp.

Valens GroWorks Corp. is a CSE-listed company (VGW:CSE) with an aggressive buildout strategy in progress. The Company seeks to capture a broad spectrum of medical cannabis users and adult recreational users once legalized, as well as clinical trial and R&D clients, in pursuit of its ambitious seed-to-sale and farm-to-pharma objectives.

The Company has two wholly-owned subsidiaries based in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia: 1) Valens Agritech Ltd. (“VAL”) which holds a Health Canada Dealer’s License, enabling cultivation and R&D and 2) Supra THC Services Inc., a Health Canada licensed cannabis testing lab providing sector-leading analytical and proprietary services to Licensed Producers and ACMPR patients.  Supra has collaborated with Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc. to develop a “Centre of Excellence in Plant-Based Medicine Analytics” centred in Kelowna, British Columbia.

For more information, visit:

• valensgroworks.com
• www.valensagritech.com
• www.suprathc.ca

About Thompson Rivers University

Thompson Rivers University is committed to participating in community partnerships that drive the knowledge and innovation economy in British Columbia’s Southern Interior.

Named after the view from its main Kamloops campus overlooking the junction of the North and South Thompson rivers, TRU is proud to support the nearly 26,000 students on its campuses in Kamloops and Williams Lake, and in online programming through TRU Open Learning.

With a 45-year history of excellence in education in the BC Interior, TRU prides itself on providing students with access to a research-informed education, and providing our communities with access to the benefits of scholarly, research, and creative activities that solve community problems and enrich community life.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley.

Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is a globally recognized research-intensive institution whose Okanagan campus was established in 2005.

The Okanagan campus emphasizes smaller class sizes, experiential learning, and research activity for students, combining a world-class UBC degree with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community.

As part of North America’s most international university, the campus is home to 9,000 students representing 98 countries.

The post UBC and TRU team up to explore useful bio-products found in cannabis appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, will host a Town Hall at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus this Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.

The University of British Columbia is delighted to welcome Prime Minister Trudeau (BEd’98) on his first visit to UBC as Prime Minister.

The public and all UBC students, alumni, faculty and staff are invited to meet the Prime Minister at this special town hall in the UBC Okanagan Gymnasium.

Date: Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Time: 7 to 8 p.m.‎ (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Location: UBC Okanagan Gymnasium – 3211 Athletics Court, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7

Online RSVP recommended

Please arrive early as this event is first come, first serve. Parking is available on campus; normal parking rates apply.

A microscopic image of the plant-parasitic nematode which can cause replant disease in cherry trees. (photo courtesy of Tristan Watson)

UBC researchers say root disease may be prevented by using compost with young cherry trees

Material currently thought of as garbage may be the answer to preventing root disease in cherry orchards without the use of fumigation, according to new research from UBC Okanagan.

PhD student Tristan Watson, co-supervisors adjunct professor Tom Forge and Biology Professor Louise Nelson, and colleagues at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Summerland Research and Development Centre (AAFC-SuRDC) recently published research examining how agricultural waste compost and chipped bark mulch can help improve growth of newly-planted sweet cherry trees and protect them from replant disease.

UBC student Tristan Watson conducts research on root disease in cherry orchards.

“Replant disease—the poor growth of fruit trees planted into soil previously used for tree-fruit production—presents a significant barrier to establishing productive orchards on old orchard soil,” explains Forge, who conducts research at AAFC-SuRDC. “Newly planted trees impacted by this disease often show reduced shoot growth, root necrosis, and a reduction in root biomass.”

Over time, populations of several types of soil-borne pests including plant-parasitic nematodes—microscopic roundworms—build up under established orchard trees, explains Watson. Then, when an old orchard is pulled out to replant a newer variety or different type of fruit crop, those soil pests can severely affect the young trees. Left untreated, the disease can delay fruit production, decrease quality, and reduce yield, thus preventing an orchard from reaching an acceptable level of productivity.

“In the past, chemical fumigants were often used to kill the pathogenic organisms in the soil before new trees are planted,” he says. “These fumigants are meant to kill everything in the soil, and unfortunately this includes beneficial micro-organisms.”

During his research in a former apple orchard, Watson used agricultural waste compost, and chipped bark mulch, on newly-planted cherry trees. The compost was applied to the planting row of some cherry trees as they were planted, and for other plots of trees in the study high carbon organic mulch was applied to the surface after the trees were planted.

Watson says the organic applications—both the compost and the bark mulch, but especially the combined treatment—significantly reduced infestation of the cherry roots by root lesion nematodes.

Most importantly, there were corresponding increases in early tree growth that have continued three years into the research.

“The recycling of waste is key to this research,” says Watson. “There is a definite reduction in the pest population that continued into three growing seasons. Replant disease is an issue around the world for all tree fruits and this is a great option for conventional and organic farmers.”

“Overall, using compost and bark mulch show potential as alternatives to fumigation for improving early growth of sweet cherry trees in pathogen-infested soil,” he says. “I’m hoping the research can be expanded to wine grapes and other tree fruits including peaches, pears and plums.  ”

Watson’s research was recently published in Applied Soil Ecology and was supported with funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Agricultural Innovations Program, the BC Fruit Growers’ Association, and the BC Cherry Association.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca

—30—

The post New research suggests compost and wood-mill waste an organic alternative to fumigation appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

UBC research provides new clues to how trees adapt to a changing climate

Jason Pither is an associate professor of biology at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

As Canada’s vast boreal and tundra ecosystems experience dramatic warming due to climate change, trees are rapidly spreading north. New research from UBC’s Okanagan Campus suggests some of these trees could be getting help from a surprising source: fungi that have lain dormant underground for thousands of years.

“The idea that long-dormant, symbiotic fungi could help trees migrate during periods of rapid climate change has been around for decades, but no one had taken it seriously enough to investigate,” says the study’s co-author Jason Pither, associate professor of biology at UBC Okanagan. “Could fungi actually remain dormant and viable for thousands of years and be resurrected by plants growing today? Our research suggests it’s possible.”

In collaboration with Brian Pickles, a former UBC postdoctoral researcher now lecturer at the University of Reading in the UK, Pither sifted through research from around the world and across many different disciplines. They found that all the key ingredients to allow this to happen were there.

For example, some common types of fungi produce spores with characteristics that should allow them to survive over extremely long periods of time, especially in cold environments like those found in Canada’s vast permafrost regions.

While it may seem farfetched to some, Pither says this “paleosymbiosis hypothesis” deserves serious consideration. If upheld, the implications could be significant.

“Fungi that were active and successful during past climate conditions could help Canada’s forests withstand the stresses of modern climate change.”

The study appears in the June 2017 issue of FEMS Microbiology Ecology and was conducted with financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grants program).

—30—

The post Ancient fungi could help Canada’s future northern forests appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Mary Stockdale is an adjunct professor of geography at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

Fascinated by food, professor looks at the system as a circle, not a chain

Mary Stockdale represents one of the original cornerstones of the global food system: farmers.

With a family history in sheep farming, Stockdale has long been closely tied to organic agriculture. And, as a self-proclaimed food activist, Stockdale promotes everything from eating locally-produced food and supporting farmers, to community gardens to healthy food access for all.

Now, as an adjunct professor at UBC’s Okanagan campus, Stockdale has found another way to promote sustainable food systems. She has created a new course, Food Systems I: System Thinking, which looks at the food system as a circle, rather than a chain.

“We’re going to work our way through the food system, learning about each component,” says Stockdale. “The course will cover food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and finally, waste—which in an ideal sustainable system is turned into compost for more food production.”

The new course, which starts in September,  is also the first campus course of its type open to students across the university, regardless of their program of study.

Stockdale says while students will come into the course with their own professional development in mind, it designed to complement their studies through its overview of the food system.

“There are a lot of niches in the food system where jobs can be found, especially here in the Okanagan,” says Stockdale. “There is potential for innovative work in agriculture, food processing, local food restaurants and retail outlets, agri-tourism, food education, local economic development and planning, and so much more.”

While theory will be a key component, the course will also include opportunities to see theory put into practice. Field trips to local farms and large institutions where food is served will allow students to analyze components of the food system in real life.

“Food affects all of us,” Stockdale adds. “Food is culture, food is politics, food is nutrition and health, food is the environment, food is economics, food is a basic human right, and food is a pleasure. Food is fascinating.”

“Through this course, students will start to understand how important it is for all the components of the food system to work together. It’s about our impact on the world through the foods we choose to eat.”

Open to all UBC students and starting this September, the new Food Systems I: System Thinking (GEOG 221) requires no prerequisites. Registration opens in June.

—30—

The post UBC introduces sustainable food systems elective appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.