LIVESTREAM

A Path from Impactful Development to Empowerment Without Jeopardizing Environmental Health

As part of McGill University’s 200th anniversary celebrations, the University is organizing a hybrid side-event to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Science and Innovation Forum 2022. This symposium is anchored by two moderated roundtables comprised of diverse experts targeting Eco-innovation: Extending the scope of sustainability to drive changes and Transformational development: Meeting global challenges.

Perspectives include cutting-edge crop genetics and impact-generating co-conceptions of environmental and nutritional sustainability across scales ranging from local to international.

Short videos from students and local Montrealer’s will act as catalysts, at once inspiring and challenging each audience member to engage in finding and adopting solutions. Closely allied to the Faculty’s research priorities, questions to be addressed at this event include:

How can we design crops and practices for the future?
How can they be integrated into sustainable food production systems?
How can we develop new approaches to resource management?
How can we better deliver safe, high-quality and health-promoting foods?

Program

MC

Catherine Mercier, Radio-Canada, La Semaine verte

Introductory remarks

Prof. Christopher Manfredi, Interim Principal and Vice-Chancellor, McGill University

Faculty’s Strategic Research Priorities

Prof. Salwa Karboune, Associate Dean (Research), AES, McGill University

Roundtable 1 – Eco-Innovation: Extending the Scope of Sustainability to Drive Changes

Increasingly rapid global changes – climate, technology, population, consumption and increased urbanization – affect ecosystems and their sustainability at all scales.

How can we support sustainable, resilient and healthy social-ecological systems?
How can we advance the sustainable governance of food production systems at a range of scales?
What is the future role of plant breeding in tackling climate change? What are the next-generation plant breeding systems?

Speakers

Prof. Valerio Hoyos-Villegas, Plant Science Department, McGill University

Prof. Gordon Hickey, Natural Resource Sciences Department, McGill University

Dr. Ismahane Elouafi
Chief Scientist, FAO

Moderator: Prof. Mehran Dastmalchi, McGill University

Roundtable 2 – Transformational Development: Meeting Global Challenges

Global demand for food production will continue to increase to meet the needs of the world’s population. Integration of food security, nutritional security and sustainable aspects is a complex task. Nutritional sustainability as a guiding concept calls for the development of more efficient solutions of nutrition balanced in the limits of environmental carrying capacity.

How can we integrate food, nutrition and sustainable innovations to foster multiple dimensions and functions of nutrition-sensitive food systems?
What are examples of advances in nutritional science and food technology which have a great potential to integrate sustainable food systems with nutritional sustainability?

Speakers

Prof. Daiva Nielsen, School of Human Nutrition, McGill University

Prof. Michael Ngadi, Bioresource Engineering, McGill University

Pascal Thériault, Director, Farm Management and Technology, McGill University

Closing Remarks

Prof. Anja Geitmann, Dean, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Associate Vice-Principal (Macdonald Campus)

McGill University FAO Event Flyer

More speakers to be announced.
A streaming link will soon be available.