Agriculture is at the intersection of many issues such as poverty, health problems and environmental concerns. Prof. Alfons Weersink, Department of Food, Agriculture and Resource Economics, is investigating how new agricultural technologies such as bioproducts and big data can affect producers, the markets, and the environment.
Mental health is a topic we need to bring to the fore, in agriculture and everywhere. During ag mental health week, Mike spoke with Jason Medows, host of the mental health focused Ag State of Mind podcast, about the issue and how to help. Jason has a unique perspective as a farmer, a pharmacist, and someone who has battled mental health himself.
Have you tried online ordering and home delivery for groceries yet? If so was it a good experience? If not, whats holding you back? In this episode Mike speaks with Sarah Joyce, Senior VP of Ecommerce at Sobey's about their new Voila home delivery offering.
Many sectors in modern agriculture depend on seasonal labour to plant, maintain, and harvest crops. Often these jobs are done by temporary foreign workers, new immigrant, or undocumented workers. In fact cheap labour is essential across the entire food system from farms, through processing to restaurants and retail. The COVID pandemic has highlighted dependence of the food system on these low wage workers.
Professor Mike von Massow was interviewed by CTV Ottawa on the impact of COVID-19 on Canadians’ use of online ordering and delivery services for groceries.
In this episode Mike talks to Dr Jess Haines, Co-Director of the Guelph Family Health Study about new research on how families are being affected by the pandemic. Jess shares some new survey results on how family's routines have changed during the crisis. They talk about less exercise, more meal planning and preparation, more meals prepared as a family, shopping habits, and more. Jess also shares some resources the GFHS has prepared to help families.
What will restaurants look like in the future? What will hospitality mean? Mike and Bruce McAdams from UofG talk about the future of restaurants and what we might see as we emerge from the COVID19 pandemic. They cover issues from labour and pricing to delivery.
What will restaurants look like as they re-open after COVID-19 lockdowns? This episode is the first half of Mike's conversation with his friend and colleague UofG's Bruce McAdams on restaurants and COVID. We talk about what we might expect in terms of our experience in restaurants and also some of the things that might not be as obvious to the average guest.