“Create more opportunities for the entire McGill community to actively engage in sustainability initiatives on campus and in their research.”

“If the mission of this university is promote sustainability, and widely shared prosperity….we have to find more ways to do this, so that

every person feels as though he or she are an active participant in embracing the challenges of our time. It is incredibly empowering…and

we have to find a way of actualizing that [mindset].”

- My backup, Bill Clinton

If the mission of this university is promote sustainability and

widely shared prosperity….we have to find more ways to do this,

so that every person feels as though he or she are an active participant in embracing the challenges of our time. It is incredibly

empowering…and have to find a way of actualizing this...

Indication of over-lapping needs…

• Are we doing this at McGill?

• Is this even the role of the university?

Give up, or learn from?

• Universities are really good at sustaining themselves, despite the overlap with social needs. That they are set up to be insular is both a strength and a weakness.

• Where does this resilience come from?

• Ken Robinson at TED:– All the incentives in education are set up to create more

university professors

• If this is true, then my experience should reflect the steps to professor hood… mainly; publication

Publication….– 24 of 24 required essays or essay responses– 23 of 24 had citation & peer reviewed reference requirements

Interaction….– 2 of 24 provided an opportunity to focus my research in the province– 1 in 24 required using primary literature (one step removed to the real world)– 0 in 24 required me to directly TALK TO ANYONE in the real world

Alternative methods…– 1 in 24 which touched on ‘real world’ data collection skills (indentifying stakeholders,

interview methods, right questions to ask)

Wasted institutional memory…– 11 of 67 essays were returned with more than a grade on them. – 67 of 67 collecting dust, only contributed to my personal development.

Problem: data collection & communication methods, Results: limits our ability to communicate effectively in real world …does my work matter?

of my 24 courses at McGill…

As a result of the current system, it not only is it easier to hide in the textbook or database then to

do something practical or original, it is encouraged, rewarded and sometimes even required.

• Applied student research (ASR)– Opportunity for innovative, placed based research

• Why Food?– “…regardless of ecological awareness, social group, and political orientation,

everybody needs to eat.”

Fortunate…

• Background: Initial Failures of ASR– Issues: (300 level geo, 300 level mgmt)

• Unreasonable Expectations: Omnivores Dilemma in one semester• Solve problem before understanding system• Inappropriate data collection & communication methods• Lack of Common Vision

• Result: Reframing our roles and focus– Took it upon ourselves, outside of coursework to:

• Creating Goals, Strategy, Proposal, Funding• Found more ways, that were active, empowering, and which were actualized

Common Vision & By-in

1. Where does our food come from, and why?

2. Who is in charge of our food sourcing decisions?

3. How can we - as a community - improve the sustainability of our food chain at McGill?

baseline to build from..

McGill’s Restaurants and Dining Halls

Chartwells

You

Food Service Providers

Suppliers & Distributors

Secondary Food Processing

Primary Food Processing

Sodexo Independent Residence Dining Hallss

Mills/Co-ops

Hectare Larivee

Mills/Co-Ops On Farm processing

Canning & Freezing Companies

On Farm Processing

Filtration Plants Processing

DistallNatrel

McGill’s Restaurants and Dining Halls

Chartwells

You

Food Service Providers

Commodity Brokers

Farmers

Sodexo Self-Operated Residences

Quebec Produce

Hector Larivée

Non-Quebec Produce Quebec Dairy

Produce Brokers

Meat and Egg Products

Quebec Milk Board Meat and Egg Brokers

DistallNatrelSuppliers & Distributors

Farm to Plate: Understanding the Institutional Supply Chain

Farm to Plate: McGill Food Guide Annual Purchasing Database

Organizational Charts

Institutional Memory: Reports, Database & Resources

Create conditions, Eliminate uncertainty

On average, how far does a Granny Smith apple travel to reach McGill Dining Halls?

A) 700km B) 1700km C) 5700km D) 7700km

Interactive tools

http://home.sus.mcgill.ca/~csam/maps/mfsp/fruveg.html

5700 km!?

…goals to enough, must act

On Local Food Days, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, each residence will source all of their produce, meat, dairy, eggs, and grain products in season, from farms within Québec.

• Reconnect students to the seasonal availability of regional food – Communicate the economic, social, and ecological benefits of eating locally

• Strengthen our residence’s support of regional food production– Test the capacity and quality of regional suppliers

– Track the origins of the locally sourced menu against conventional ordering

Local Food Days: Goals

McGill version in progress…

• We can maintain intellectual rigor while calling for pragmatic work, with new and creative ways of communicating

• We need to create the conditions for this model to not only be accessible, but encouraged where it will be most effective

….and the rewards will generate themselves

Zero sum game?

The future

If the mission of this university is promote sustainability and

widely shared prosperity….we have to find more ways to do this,

so that every person feels as though he or she are an active participant in embracing the challenges of our time. It is incredibly

empowering…and have to find a way of actualizing this...

Higher learning and sustainability are inextricably linked…

…The role of the university? McGill can, and should.

Looking forward from the past…

“Don’t wait, push, and become the force you wish existed.It is always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission…”

– Van Jones & AASHE