$3M gift catalyst in creation of chair for sustainable food production

Brampton and Guelph, ON — Loblaw Companies and the University of Guelph have announced the creation of The Loblaw Companies Limited Chair in Sustainable Food Production. The chair was made possible by a $3-million gift from Loblaw and will be the centre of the university’s research focus on creating robust food production systems.

“Working together, we can address the very issues that are at the root of today’s global pressures around food sustainability,” said Galen G Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw Companies. “Through this initiative, we believe we can help to increase Canada’s capacity to produce food sustainably, train tomorrow’s industry leaders, contribute to policy development, meet consumers’ needs and nurture our environment. It represents the defining strategy for Loblaw over the next two decades.”

Among other things, the chair will pioneer approaches for dealing with the increasing challenges in agriculture and food production. This includes leading a national program in sustainable local food production, developing roundtables on the topic and creating an industry advisory group to guide novel curriculum development.

The chair will also assemble a core of researchers in agriculture and food production, lead collaborations in the public and private sectors, serve as a key resource for government food and agriculture policy development, and work to lead and advance the sustainability of agriculture and food production in Canada.

A search for the inaugural chair holder is beginning immediately, and the position will be based at the university’s Ontario Agricultural College’s Department of Plant Agriculture.