I was at home today making some dinner, as I do, listening to the CBC, as I do, and thinking a little bit about meat. I don't really eat it you see. Not because I am an animal rights activist, not because of any religious inclination, not because it is expensive..., maybe for environmental reasons (resource consumption and what not). I actually don't give it too much thought as to why I don't eat meat, I just don't do it. Some of my friends have tried to pin me down on a reason and some people have asked me why I don't advocate vegetarianism more... I guess I am just not that kind of vegetarian. So there I am, making my dinner, listening to my CBC, and wouldn't you know it, it just so happens that there is show on the radio about meat: The Matter of Meat . I am not listening too keenly until the subject turns to famous vegans - turns out Frankenstein's Monster was a vegan. I started listening a bit more closely. The radio show continues with some in...

Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) Have you ever heard of it? The concept is simple, you give a farmer some money and they grow food on your behalf. Every week you get a box full of fruits and vegetables and the farmers get paid for their hard work. Quid pro quo. This past semester an intern student from France joined our office and worked on a project designed to increase community agriculture on campus. Coraline's idea was to get a CSA started on campus and help build a more sustainable food system. Here's the thought process; People on campus need more access to locally grown food. Partnering with a local farm that has the capacity to deliver food to uOttawa greatly increases the chances that the community will take advantage of it. Access is one of the greatest challenges people face when trying to make healthy food choices. The easier it is to get your food, the more of it you will eat. Bringing healthy foods right to the campus will make it easier for more people ...

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and our food systems are hot topics nowadays and there is a lot of information floating around out there. This past November, St Paul’s University played host for Ottawa’s GMO symposium. As part of this event, our friends at the Interdisciplinary Food Lab (LEILA) hosted a special guest lecture about GMOs and related regulations in Canada. What is a GMO? To understand GMOs we need to look at DNA. Think of DNA as the blueprint for everything in our body. DNA holds the code for arranging amino acids, which create proteins, which we use for different reactions or to form different tissues and membranes. Although this is still a relatively new science, it has come a long way in part because of the Human Genome Project (in which the whole human genome was mapped and the genes responsible for coding specific proteins were identified). When an organism is genetically modified we cut and paste DNA from another organism into the original organism’s...