New Partnership Announcement
Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab to partner with Angus Reid to help improve food security
HALIFAX, NS. (October 15, 2019) - Understanding the future of food requires advanced agri-food analytics to help the industry explore, learn, innovate, commercialize and improve food quality, security, sustainability, appreciation and healthfulness.
Such is the focus of the Dalhousie Agri-Food Analytics Lab which will receive a $250,000 boost from Angus Reid Inc., Canada’s most well-known and respected name in opinion polling and market research data. The company will provide a generous annual contribution of data to Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab and its Scientific Director Dr. Sylvain Charlebois over the next five years in the form of targeted field surveys as well as input on relevant food-related questions within existing Angus Reid Inc. surveys.
“The Angus Reid Academic team is delighted to be working with Dr. Charlebois and the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University uncovering and analysing what Canadians think on the all-important topics of food, nutrition and agri-business,” said Ed Morawski, President & COO, Angus Reid Inc. “Canadian opinion on how we produce, acquire and consume our food is a core component of a healthy society and perfectly aligned with the Angus Reid mission.”
The Agri-Food Analytics Lab (AAL) aims to understand the future of agri-food systems through analytics.
The bilingual Lab provides a global knowledge hub and space for sharing intelligence, research and learning on food security, agriculture, aquaculture, agri-business and social aspects of food.
Each year, the AAL publishes a wide range of high-impact and highly accessible reports, including up to six studies on specific food issues. These reports supplement each December's publication of Canada’s Food Price Report which is read by over 80 million each year.
“Working with Angus Reid will be key for our research moving forward,” explained Scientific Director AAL, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. “What is critical also is how they really understand the Canadian market and how we can get a sample design that works well for our research projects.”
Eamonn McGuinty, a Master of Resource and Environmental Management candidate at Dalhousie University released, with the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, a 2019 pan-Canadian study on single-use plastic packaging waste and its links to the Canadian food industry. Eamonn is also co-author on both the 2019 and 2020 Canada Food Price Reports informing Canadians about food prices and the driving forces behind anticipated changes.
“The future of agri-food systems relies heavily on accessible, democratized and distributed data to fully understand the range of rapidly emerging risks we face,” he added. “Evidence-based insights and future collaborations with Angus Reid will allow us to use advanced agri-food analytics to help the industry innovate and commercialize to new levels. More importantly, we can improve Canadian food quality, security and sustainability at home and around the world."
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Media contact:
Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab
Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University
Sylvain.Charlebois@dal.ca
902-222-4142 (cell)
Janet Music, Research Program Coordinator, Agri-Food Analytics Lab
Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University
jlmusic@dal.ca
902-494-2471
Offering a variety of research solutions to businesses, brands, governments, not-for-profit organizations, and more, the Angus Reid Inc. team connects technologies and people to derive powerful insights that inform decisions.
About Sylvain Charlebois, Scientific Director of AAL
Dr. Charlebois conducts research in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He has written four books and many peer-reviewed and scientific articles—over 500 during his career. His research has been featured in newspapers that include The Economist, New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Globe & Mail, National Post and Toronto Star.
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