How to Transition to a More Plant-Based Food System

This event is part of the University of Alberta’s Sustainability Awareness Week

There is an urgent need to transition to a more plant-based food system to reduce the environmental footprint of food production, mitigate zoonotic infectious disease risks, improve dietary health and reduce chronic disease, and avoid many harms to both farmed and wild nonhuman animals. But how can we achieve such a transition in the face of the economic and cultural forces that perpetuate the unsustainable status-quo of a food system that is far too reliant on animal products?

In this session our speakers will discuss with us some vitally important concrete steps that can be taken both in the setting of institutions like the University of Alberta and other public and private institutions to rapidly achieve the much needed transition to a more plant-based food system. These include working to implement the aims of:

DefaultVeg, which is seeking to make plant-based food the default in universities and other public and private institutions, while giving people the choice to opt in for meals with animal products;

The Canadian University Campaign, which is working to implement plant-rich catering in campus food services at universities across Canada;

Nation Rising, which is lobbying to shift multi-billion dollar government subsidies away from animal agriculture and towards funding a just transition to a plant-based food system, and;

ProVeg International, which works with international decision-making bodies, governments, food producers, investors, the media, and the general public to help the world transition to a society and economy that are less dependent on animal agriculture and more sustainable for humans, animals, and the planet.

Speakers:

Joey Tuminello on DefaultVeg

Eleanor Carrara on the Canadian Universities Campaign

Kathleen Kevany on the Universities Campaign at Dalhousie

Darlene Levecque on Nation Rising

Jessika Ava on ProVeg International Grants

Simone Luhr on ProVeg International Institutional Initiatives

Speaker Bios:

Joey Tuminello is an assistant professor of philosophy at McNeese State University, and a program coordinator for the nonprofit organizations Farm Forward and Better Food Foundation, including the DefaultVeg campaign. His research interests include the philosophies of food, medicine, animals, and environment through the lenses of hermeneutics, pragmatism, and Jainism. At McNeese, Joey mostly teaches biomedical ethics and occasional sections of ethical theory and existentialism.

Eleanor Carrara (B.Sc. McGill, MBA Concordia), is Executive Director of the Organizing Committee for the Plant-Based Transition Coalition. Eleanor started the Canadian university campaign in the fall of 2020 working with the senior leadership, dining & sustainability teams, ambassadors, and organizations such as DefaultVeg to promote the plant-based transition. Eleanor has been a committed life-long animal rights activist and environmentalist. Her professional career as Vice President of Sales Operations at one of the largest global digital infrastructure companies had occupied most of her time over the last couple of decades. She now dedicates herself full time to combatting animal agriculture and promoting plant-based diets.

Kathleen Kevany is an Associate Professor and Director of Rural Research Collaborative with Dalhousie University, Faculty of Agriculture, where she specializes in sustainable diets, well-being, and systems analysis. She is on advisory boards for Canadian Food Studies, and Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, as well as the President of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation. Kathleen is a certified counsellor, psychotherapist and soon to complete certification in Plant-based Nutrition with Cornell University. She has thirty years experience working within business, government, and community development and was the Chief Energy Orchestrator (CEO) of The Decentralized Intelligence Agency. Kathleen delights in building relationships based on curiosity, openness, compassion, and playfulness. She also relishes making delectable dishes that nourish people and are friendly to the planet.

Darlene Levecque is co-founder and executive director of Nation Rising, a non-partisan political advocacy group lobbying the federal government to shift subsidies from animal agriculture and towards a plant-based food system for the benefit of the people, the planet, and animals. Darlene holds a honours bachelor of science in languages from Laurentian University, and a deep expertise in human resources and project management acquired during her tenure of over 30 years at a prominent Canadian telecommunications company. Darlene’s passion for animals has translated into volunteering her time for more than 15 years with several Canadian dog-rescue organizations, devoting her time to fundraising and fostering special-needs dogs.

Jessika Ava directs the ProVeg Grants Program, where she works to expand vegan advocacy efforts worldwide through strategic capacity-building efforts. Jessika’s niche lies in coordinating global projects, quantitative program evaluations, and guiding philanthropic and grantmaking support. Her notable experience includes NGO management, international grantmaking, biostatistics, and Asian street animal welfare. She sits on the Board of Directors of Umano, A Just World, and Out to Pasture Animal Sanctuary, and is a member of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and multiple advisory boards. She holds an MS in Biostatistics, an MPA in Nonprofit Management and Program Evaluation, and a BS in Biology.

Simone Lühr works at ProVeg Germany in both the research team and the food services team. Since 2017, she has been a project manager responsible for organizing cooking training courses for chefs, especially for university canteens. In these, she educates chefs on the “why” and “how” of plant-based nutrition and cooking. She helps to increase the availability and quality of vegan food in community catering. She also works as a research associate on solutions for sustainable animal-free agriculture. She holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology with a focus on biodiversity and ecology.

SDG Connection: # 2, 3, 6, 12, 13, 14, 15

Join us on Facebook Live or via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82596359251

3PM PDT
4PM MDT
5PM CDT
6PM EDT