What's New
OAC Welcomes Dr. Ralph Martin, Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Production
March 25, 2011
“If food production was the focus of the 20th century, the 21st is about sustainability,” says Ralph Martin. “The challenge to meet is not so much feeding the world, but the production and distribution of food that is safe, reliable, and enjoyable.”
The interconnectedness of people, plants and the land sums up Martin’s unique perspective, and helps to illustrate the suitability of his appointment as the inaugural Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Production.
Martin’s new position is the first of its kind in North America. He is tasked with developing and implementing a new national program in sustainable food production and bringing together producers, processors, retailers and consumers. He will organize roundtables and create an industry advisory group to guide novel curriculum development. The goal is to advance research and spur collaboration between the University and the broader local, provincial and national communities, guiding the development of food and agriculture policy, and improving the sustainability of agriculture and food production in Canada.
The Loblaw Chair has been funded by the largest single gift ever to OAC, a $3,000,000 commitment from Canada’s largest food distributor. With additional support from OAC’s class of 71-72, the Chair is an important endorsement of our efforts in research, teaching and service in food, agriculture, communities and environment, and reinforces our dedication to The BetterPlanet Project .
“This position will allow me to draw in people from many sectors and we need a lot of people on this,” Martin says. He is uniquely suited to the task. He has been a professor at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College since 1990 and is currently the director of the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, the only institution of its kind in the country. He also recently launched Canada’s Organic Science Cluster through Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, the country’s first federally funded agriculture research cluster program.
Martin earned a PhD in plant science from McGill University, and MA in biology and BA from Carleton University. His research is focused on integrated plant production systems and applied environmental science. He has written numerous journal articles and book chapters, and has spoken at conferences around the world.
“Food is not just a resource,” he says. “There are elements of culture and tradition. Biodiversity and climate change have an effect on food availability in Canada. Cultural diversity is an opportunity. People bring different tastes and knowledge. For instance, vegetables that are familiar to the Chinese can now be grown in Ontario. Much can be learned from different methods of preservation and processing that can be applied to food security.”
Martin points with pride to his roots, the agricultural expertise of Mennonite farmers, and the strong family connections he still has in southern Ontario. “Heritage and community are extremely valuable,” he says, referring to fundamentals learned from his grandfather on the family farm near Wallenstein, Ontario. “Diversity is also about diversity of action.” His new role commences August 1.
