Earth Day: Looking at Long-Term Food Production
For Earth Day, we’re highlighting plant physiologist Thorsten Knipfer who is working to understand how we can sustainably manage one of the most important natural resources on our planet, water.
Exploring land-based relationships with a fresh view
This year, 10 UBC researchers – including two from Land and Food Systems – received funds of up to $10,000 to support their collaborative projects, knowledge translation and mobilization initiatives related to the climate and nature emergency.
Digital detection web for on-campus insects: Building community resilience in biodiversity monitoring
Tracking insects at UBC campus is taking a leap forward by employing high-tech, automated tools such as remote sensing, machine learning, and the Internet of Things.
Is eating a mixed diet better for health and survival?
An analysis of 20 longitudinal studies looking at the link between dietary diversity and chronic disease impacts.
New study shows the toll industrial farming takes on bird diversity
A new UBC-led study looking into the impacts that large industrial farming has on biodiversity found that increased farm size causes a decline in bird diversity.
Learning to Coexist with Urban Wildlife
Feeding and taking pictures of wildlife can be extremely harmful for both animals and humans. Assistant Professor Kristen Walker shares how important it is to coexist with the urban wildlife.
Meet Peek-a-Moo, a Data Visualization Tool for Dairy Cattle
Meet Peek-a-Moo, the UBC Dairy Research Centre’s new data visualization tool. The new tool helps researchers spot trends in everything from how much cows eat and rest, to where they spend their time, and even who else in the herd they hang out with!
Nature’s Weapon Against Food-Borne Pathogens
Microscopic bacteria-eating viruses, known as bacteriophages or phages, are coming into favour as a way to combat food-borne pathogens. Found naturally in the environment, phages are a promising alternative to antimicrobials used in food products because of their ability to hone in and destroy targeted bacteria while leaving ‘good’ bacteria intact.
Edible Packaging is as Good For Your Food as it is For the Planet
A team of researchers is making improvements to edible packaging film as a way to reduce the use of plastic in the food industry.
Building a Resilient Food System Starts with the Soil
Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes (SAL) Lab published a paper this summer that measured soil organic carbon in the Fraser Valley from 1984 to 2018, reporting that 61% of the farms, soil organic carbon was in decline. Results proposes the next step of the research, which is to evaluate which specific methods are contributing this decline, and working with farmers to find solutions.