In November 2022, the University of Alberta’s Chancellor’s Forum covered “The Future of Food.” The panel discussion ranged from how Canadian food systems fared throughout the pandemic to the future potential of cellular agriculture. Senator Paula Simons, who chaired the forum, asked panelists what they thought the food system might look like in 50 years. My colleague Gleise Medeiros da Silva said, “I hope that we can have more options … we can eradicate hunger, and we can increase food distribution so that everybody has the right to eat, [and that there’s no] lack of all the nutrients they need to perform well and live a healthy life.” As an assistant professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences and Beef Cattle Research Council Hays Chair in Beef Production Systems, she’s helping lay the groundwork for that goal.
However, a number of challenges interfere with that vision. Drought creates significant hardships for farmers in southern Alberta who will have poor crop yields and struggle to grow enough to feed their animal herds through next winter. We are all facing higher food prices, which seem to be a combination of supply chain issues and labour shortages, as well as the result of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and a lack of competition in the grocery sector. Agriculture continues to be in the spotlight because of the role it plays in greenhouse gas production, concerns over animal welfare and the need for long-term sustainability in our farming practices. Although farm commodity prices have been rising, producers are also facing inflation as they purchase the fuel, fertilizer, equipment and the other input they need to operate their farms and ranches.
Fortunately, there’s momentum in agrifood research. At the recent Inventures conference hosted by Alberta Innovates, I chaired a panel on building a sustainable and resilient food system. Panel members shared their work in the food ecosystem, such as the World Food Programme’s support after natural or human-caused disasters, and the New Zealand dairy industry’s plans to meet aggressive zero-carbon targets. The Second Harvest executive director described their work to reduce food waste across Canada.
Our own community is contributing solutions to these issues, too. This summer our faculty members and graduate students are out on our 25,000 acres of research farms and ranches across Alberta working on a variety of topics: how can we increase the capacity of soils to lock away carbon; testing new technology that can keep animals in a pasture without a fence through virtual signals to their ear tag; decreasing the amount of antibiotics used in the poultry industry with unique yeast; and understanding how soil management practices can improve soil health. Staff in our labs are working on innovative food products that are healthier, safer, more nutritious and appealing to the many interests of consumers.
Last year, Canada exported $83 billion in agrifood products. Alberta contributed $16.2 billion of that total. Our agriculture and food industries are an exciting story of skilled people, a tremendous natural resource base and a zealous commitment to innovation. The handful of countries that have the capacity to increase their agrifood exports are making investments in research, transportation infrastructure and value-added processing to capture the economic and social benefits of the agriculture and food sectors.
This summer, as you visit your local grocery store, drive past brilliant yellow-flowered canola fields or see herds of cattle dotted across Alberta pastures, rest assured that the many people who work in our renewable agriculture and food sector are committed to addressing our opportunities and challenges. These dedicated individuals are making significant progress to ensure that the sector is sustainable, productive and a foundation of our communities and the economy.
