Ronald O. Ball Lectureship in Food & Agriculture
From Field to Fad: Science, Misinformation and the Future of Food - 2026
The spread of misinformation seems to intensify with each passing week. Indeed, it is a defining characteristic of our time! We are in the middle of a knowledge crisis, and it is doing tangible harm – to public health, mental health, public discourse, personal relationships and public trust. But it is also having a dramatic impact on what we eat and how we think about the agricultural industry. Will the myths surrounding what we eat, how our food is grown and what is safe erode our ability to feed a growing world?
Join the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences for a thought-provoking conversation with U of A’s own Timothy Caulfield exploring food and agricultural misinformation and what it might take to bring scientific consensus and integrity back to the table.
Myer Horowitz Theatre
Thursday, November 26
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Doors open for pre-reception at 6:00 p.m.
Tickets $10 (donated to Campus Food Bank)
Previous Lectures
Making Waves: Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Face of Extreme Events and Irreversible Climate Impacts - 2025
Climate-driven phenomena have a profound impact on global fisheries and aquaculture systems. Disruptions such as marine heatwaves, hypoxia and compound events are reshaping aquatic ecosystems with drastic ecological and socioeconomic implications – for both marine life and humankind. Are Earth’s oceans reaching a tipping point? Could this lead to a global food production collapse?
Guest William Cheung, director and professor of the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Oceans and Fisheries addressed these impacts including shifts in species distributions, social-ecological impacts and tipping points, threats to food and nutritional security, as well as the challenges they pose to resource management and conservation policies.
Water insecurity and our health: Lessons from the Galapagos - 2023
Clean, safe water is necessary for our health and nutrition. Understanding the pathways through which water insecurity shapes health at the individual and household levels and how it interacts with food is critical for improving physical and mental health now and in the face of environmental and climate change.
Guest speaker, Amanda L. Thompson, examined the impact of water insecurity and the impact of water on health and nutrition against the backdrop of the challenges that local communities in the Galapagos Islands face when the pressures of tourism conflicts with the need for clean water and farmland.
The case of the “Potato Park” - 2021
'The case of the Potato Park' illustrated how indigenous Quechua peoples in Cusco, Peru, have been empowered by the use of their “Ayllu” cosmology to craft an effective "sustainable development" and natural resource (agrobiodiversity) management strategy.
Lab-grown Meat: The future of food? - 2018
Presented by Dr. Bill Aimutis, director, North Carolina Food Innovation Lab, NC State University.
The Canadian Food System and Chronic Disease: Cause or Cure - 2015
Presented by Harvey Anderson, professor at the University of Toronto.
In this presentation, Professor Anderson discussed the Canadian food system and its relationship to chronic diseases. The agri-food system has been the major contributor to prevention of disease since the industrial revolution, but it needs to take a new approach to chronic disease. What will that approach be and how will it benefit the health of Canadians?
Inaugural Ronald O Ball Lecture - 2013
Presented by George Kent, Professor Emeritus with U of Hawaii.
About the Ronald O. Ball Lectureship in Food & Agriculture
Ronald O Ball has generously supported this lecture with the Ronald O Ball Lectureship in Food & Agriculture Fund.
This fund allows the University of Alberta to invite an excellent speaker to campus who will appeal to many audiences, faculty members, students, alumni, media, professional agrologists, and the general public. The speaker will be of a stature to attract attention and interest from the University, media, and community, and will highlight current issues in nutrition, food and agriculture.
Questions about the lectureship can be directed to Catherine Field.