All residential buildings in Montreal with under nine units now have brown bins—but only 63 per cent actually sort out their food waste, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the city. Meanwhile, the Lachenaie landfill in Terrebonne—the only landfill in the Montreal area—is set to reach its capacity in 2029.

The city says a large-scale food waste awareness campaign will launch later this year to try to boost citizens' participation in separating out organics. 

Classified as: Grant Clark, Department of Bioresource engineering
Published on: 27 Jul 2023

Palm oil, which can be found in roughly half of all packaged supermarket products, is notorious for causing deforestation and biodiversity loss. Efforts to curtail the damage have largely focused on voluntary environmental certification programs that label qualifying palm-oil sources as "sustainable."

Classified as: Benjamin Goldstein, Department of Bioresource engineering
Published on: 27 Jul 2023

In a recent multidisciplinary study published in Advanced Science, researchers build upon the principles of biomimicry by drawing inspiration from the wing of a dragonfly to redesign that of a Boeing 777.

Classified as: Department of Bioresource engineering, Abdolhamid Akbarzadeh Shafaroudi
Published on: 26 Jul 2023

Sollio Agriculture has partnered with McGill University to test the benefits of PurYield, a new coated fertilizer which enhances nutrient uptake by plants. Researchers will compare it to commonly used uncoated urea fertilizer to assess its impact on corn grain growth, yield, and quality, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Previous trials showed a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The new study aims to validate these environmental benefits over five years, with funding from Sollio and a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.  

Classified as: Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences, Joann Whalen
Published on: 26 Jul 2023

A Canadian-led team has assembled the most extensive genetic roadmap of the potato to date, along with its closest relatives, in order to bolster the plant’s ability to cope with climate change and protect its future as a mainstay of global food security and sustainability.

Classified as: Martina Stromvik, Department of Plant Science
Published on: 26 Jul 2023

On May 31, 2023, McGill University’s Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) and SOCODEVI, in collaboration with the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), held an event showcasing concrete actions to strengthen sustainable agriculture, improve the living conditions of smallholder farmers and increase the resilience of agri-food systems. This event also launched a new collaboration between IFAD and McGill IGFS, including an internship program and IFAD student group.

Classified as: Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security, Patrick Cortbaoui, School of Human Nutrition
Published on: 25 Jul 2023

Aspartame, used in products such as diet sodas and chewing gum, will soon be listed as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" for the first time by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer research arm. (Reuters)

Classified as: Stephane Bayen, Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry
Published on: 19 Jul 2023

The impacts of climate change, rising fuel costs, geopolitical conflicts, and global supply chain snags make today's delocalized food system—and the 8 billion people who depend on it—increasingly vulnerable. 

Part of the solution to building a more sustainable and resilient agrifood system is to improve local, indoor food production. Researchers in McGill’s Biomass Production Laboratory are doing just that, increasing access to fresh produce year-round.

Classified as: Mark Lefsrud, Biomass Production Laboratory
Published on: 10 Jul 2023

Maple Leaf Foods and the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security have announced the four recipients of the 2023/24 Maple Leaf Board Scholarships in Food Insecurity. Recipients, including Masters candidate Shannon Udy from McGill's School of Human Nutrition, will receive a $15,000 scholarship to support their research.

Udy’s research, supervised by Dr. Treena Wasonti:io Delormier, will help design a participatory process to food security planning in Kahnawà:ke, a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) community.

Classified as: School of Human Nutrition, Treena Wasonti:io Delormier, External Scholarships
Published on: 3 Jul 2023

Si vous habitez les alentours de la ville de Windsor, peut-être avez-vous remarqué des substances blanches semblables à du pollen amassé sur les trottoirs, les pelouses ou les terrasses. Ce sont des semences de peupliers. À l'émission Matins sans frontières, David Wees, enseignant en horticulture à l'Université McGill, explique l'origine de ces semences, leur importance et comment se comporter vis-à-vis d'elles.

Classified as: david wees, Horticulture Research Centre
Published on: 3 Jul 2023

A new research collaboration at McGill University and the University of Quebec in Montreal will explore the role of artificial intelligence in promoting dairy cattle welfare.

It will be led by Dr. Elsa Vasseur of McGill’s Department of Animal Science and Abdoulaye Baniré Diallo of UQAM’s Department of Computer Science.

Classified as: Dept. of Animal Science, Elsa Vasseur
Published on: 3 Jul 2023

The number of American kestrels has dropped sharply. That goes against the trend for birds of prey, broadly seen as a conservation bright spot.

Hypotheses about the decline abound. In a newly published special issue on kestrels in The Journal of Raptor Research, Dr. Smallwood and David Bird, an emeritus professor of wildlife biology at McGill University in Montreal, list seven possible factors for kestrel declines that they argue merit more research, in no particular order.

Classified as: Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences, David Bird
Published on: 28 Jun 2023

Sixty per cent of roughly 1,600 Canadians who took part in a new study from McGill's School of Human Nutrition say their lifestyle habits either stayed the same or improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the flip side, 40% of participants say they adopted less healthy lifestyle habits, including worsened eating habits, sleep quality, decreased physical activity and weight gain.

Classified as: School of Human Nutrition, Stéphanie Chevalier
Published on: 28 Jun 2023

Professor Ryan Mailloux has been appointed Director of the School of Human Nutrition (SHN) effective from June 1, 2023, for a five-year term.

Dr. Mailloux earned his Ph.D. in Biomolecular Sciences from Laurentian University in 2007. He joined McGill in 2019, previously serving as an Assistant Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Classified as: School of Human Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, Dietetics & Human Nutrition
Published on: 6 Jun 2023

“There are lots of opportunities to contribute to society,” says Vijaya Raghavan. “If I can share that point with students, I think it can go a long way.”

Classified as: Vijaya Raghavan, Convocation
Published on: 6 Jun 2023

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