Chairholder Profile

Nathan Pelletier

Okanagan - Biology
The University of British Columbia

Chair title

NSERC / Egg Farmers of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Sustainability

Chair program

Industrial Research Chairs program

Role

Associate Chairholder since 2017

Summary

Modern food systems are at the centre of diverse sustainability challenges as well as potential solutions. The NSERC/Egg Farmers of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Sustainability will advance the knowledge and develop the tools needed for science-based measurement and management of sustainability in the Canadian egg industry and agri-food system. The research program will identify opportunities to improve resource efficiencies and to reduce emissions on Canadian egg farms and in supply-chain activities by:

• developing and populating a publicly available database to support agri-food sustainability research and management nationally;
• identifying and disseminating best management practices focused on sustainability for Canadian egg farmers, as well as evaluating emerging green technologies to improve the sustainability of Canadian egg products;
• developing a platform for sustainability assessment that Canadian egg farmers can use to measure, track and report their performance to customers and other stakeholders. This research is directly transferable across agri-food sectors, and will enable efficient, reproducible and credible sustainability measurement and management initiatives in the Canadian agri-food system. It will also enable Canadian agri-food producers to capitalize on emerging market-based opportunities to differentiate their products on the basis of sustainability attributes.

Dr. Pelletier currently holds the Endowed Chair in Bio-economy Sustainability Management / Egg Industry Chair in Sustainability at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. He has broad experience and expertise in agri-food system (food, feed and biomass) sustainability measurement, management and communication.

Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) is a national not-for-profit organization that manages the supply of eggs, promotes eggs and develops standards for egg farming in Canada—an industry that contributes more than $1.4 billion dollars to the Canadian economy and employs close to 16,800 people. EFC comprises more than 1,000 member egg farms across Canada. Led by a board of directors with national representation, EFC invests in forward-thinking research and development to ensure evidence-based farming and to build the next generation of farmers and researchers in Canada. Dr. Pelletier’s team will collaborate closely with EFC and its constituents to create knowledge and tools that can be directly applied to new sustainability initiatives industry-wide.

Partner

• Egg Farmers of Canada

Contact information

Okanagan - Biology
The University of British Columbia

Email: nathan.pelletier@ubc.ca

Website:
 http://www.prismlab.weebly.com