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April 6, 2020

Welcome to our first ever newsletter! With these quarterly newsletters we’ll be sharing new research briefs, updates and resources relevant to BC food producers and processors, as well as any events either we or our partners are hosting. We are working hard to get resources for you in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, see below, and we will be posting more to the BC Food Web and our social media channels in the coming days and weeks. Please also reach out to us if you have anything to share. Thanks for being part of the BC Food Web!

What's New

Meet Jessica. We are excited to announce that in December, Jessica Latus joined the BC Food Web as the Program Manager. Jessica is the BC Food Web’s first dedicated staff member, thanks to a three-year grant from Vancity, and we’re delighted to have Jessica on board!

In her role, Jessica oversees the strategic direction of the BC Food Web. This includes the creation of the research briefs on the BC Food Web, as well as the forthcoming educational videos and webinars focused on increasing environmental sustainability of BC agriculture.

Jessica is originally from the United States having grown up in Indiana, and she had quite a few layovers in other parts of the globe before landing in Vancouver, B.C. She holds a master's degree in urban ecology from the University of Helsinki (Finland) and a bachelor's degree in biology from Arizona State University. In her free time, Jessica also volunteers on the Board of Directors of FarmFolk CityFolk and is the current board chair.

Please feel free to reach out and say ‘hi’ to Jessica at: bc.foodweb@ubc.ca. She’d also love to hear what resources you’re looking to see on the BC Food Web!

New Research Briefs

Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Wild Plants are Better at Repelling Insect Pests than Domesticated Varieties

Humans have domesticated plants by selecting for traits such as better taste and yield, and this selection has changed how crops interact with the environment compared to wild plants. This study sought to find out if domesticated plants are more vulnerable to herbivorous insects compared to their wild relatives.
Read More...

Quinoa Production in the Urban Environment

There may be concerns with growing quinoa for consumption in urban farms because the concentration of copper and lead in its seeds has the potential to surpass human health standards.

This study sought to investigate the pattern of heavy metal uptake in quinoa in order to determine the feasibility of growing quinoa in urban farms for consumption in Vancouver.

Read More...

Sustainability and Public Health Nutrition in Vancouver Schools

School food programs have the potential to help incorporate healthy and sustainable eating into the everyday life of children, but we lack the assessment tools to study them well.

Using Canada’s Food Guide as a guide to define healthy eating, this study sought to develop an evaluation tool called the School Food Environment Assessment Tools (SFEAT).

Read More...

Evaluating Contaminated Irrigation Water in BC's Lower Mainland

This study sought to determine how much Listeria, Salmonella, and VTEC can be found in surface water used for irrigation in BC’s Lower Mainland. In addition, it sought to assess the effectiveness of fecal coliforms and generic E.coli as water quality indicators. Lastly, it also investigated how environmental factors increase or decrease the presence of VTEC, Listeria, and Salmonella in surface water used for irrigation.

Read More...

Please see bcfoodweb.ca for all of our briefs!

Updates on COVID-19

COVID-19 on surfaces: UBC expert on safety of deliveries, groceries

Trudeau increases Farm Credit Canada's lending capacity by $5B amid COVID-19 crisis

How small farms can survive the Coronavirus pandemic

BC Farmer's Markets online opening soon

More COVID-19 resources for producers and processors can be found on BC Food Web.

What else are you looking for?

What else do you want to see from BC Food Web? More research briefs? Relevant news articles? On-farm management tips? We'd love to hear what you think! Please email us at bc.foodweb@ubc.ca with your ideas and suggestions.

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Contact us: bc.foodweb@ubc.ca

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