Lenore Newman
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Lenore Newman (born 1973) is a Canadian author and geographer. She is Associate Professor of Geography and the Environment at the
University of the Fraser Valley The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), formerly known as University College of the Fraser Valley and Fraser Valley College, is a public university with campuses in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, British Columbi ...
and Director of the Food and Agriculture Institute. She holds a research chair in food and agriculture innovation and is a past
Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...
in Food Security and the Environment.


Biography

Newman was born in
Sechelt Sechelt (, Sechelt language, shíshálh Language: ch'atlich) is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from ma ...
, a coastal town in
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, and raised in a fishing family. She attended the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
, where she received a BSc (Hons) in Physics, and then completed an MES and PhD at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
. Newman studies agricultural and culinary
geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
. She has conducted fieldwork around the globe, studying public markets, regional cuisines, farmland preservation, global food security, and the ecology of the world's
food system The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition, food, health, community development, and agriculture. A food system includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population: growi ...
. As Canada Research Chair in Food Security and the Environment she researches the
impact of climate change Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an Instrumental temperature record, overall warming trend, Effects of climate change on the ...
on
food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...
and global cuisines. She has published over forty peer-reviewed academic articles in her area of research. In 2014, Newman was inducted into the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Her first book, ''Speaking in Cod Tongues: A Canadian Culinary Journey'', was published in 2017 by the University of Regina Press. It explores regional food cultures across
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, ultimately arguing for the existence of a distinctly
Canadian cuisine Canadian cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices of Canada, with regional variances around the country. First Nations and Inuit have practiced their culinary traditions in what is now Canada for at least 15,000 years. The adve ...
and outlining the properties that define it. Her second book, '' Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food'' was published in 2019 by ECW Press. It explores the foods that humans have eaten to
extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
, as well as species currently at risk of extinction due to human consumption and possible ways to avoid these outcomes through food alternatives and better stewardship. Her third book, ''Dinner on Mars: The Technologies That Will Feed the Red Planet and Transform Agriculture on Earth'', was co-authored with Dr. Evan Fraser and published in 2022 by ECW Press. It discusses the technological innovations that would make it possible to feed a Martian colony, using the challenge of establishing a food system off-world to explore ways of producing food more sustainably on
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
. Newman currently researches technology and the future of food, agricultural land use policy, and place making through food and agriculture. She also researches agricultural production methods such as
vertical farming Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically and horizontally stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics ...
,
cellular agriculture Cellular agriculture focuses on the production of agricultural products from cell cultures using a combination of biotechnology, tissue engineering, molecular biology, and synthetic biology to create and design new methods of producing proteins, ...
,
precision agriculture Precision agriculture (PA) is a management strategy that gathers, processes and analyzes temporal, spatial and individual plant and animal data and combines it with other information to support management decisions according to estimated varia ...
, and
regenerative agriculture Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration ...
, focusing on the way these methods and technologies work together. In 2018 she was appointed to a government committee to strengthen the
Agricultural Land Reserve British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is a collection of land where agriculture is designated as the priority use. Farming is encouraged and non-agricultural uses are restricted. The ALR was established by the British Columbia New De ...
in British Columbia. In 2019 she was appointed to a Food Security Task Force with the mandate to advise the government on ways to apply technology and innovation to support the agricultural sector in British Columbia and to reduce
food waste The causes of food going uneaten are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during food production, production, food processing, processing, Food distribution, distribution, Grocery store, retail and food service sales, and Social clas ...
.


Published works

*''Speaking in Cod Tongues: A Canadian Culinary Journey''. Regina: University of Regina Press, 2017. *'' Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food''. Toronto: ECW Press, 2019. *''Dinner on Mars: The Technologies That Will Feed the Red Planet and Transform Agriculture on Earth'', co-authored with Evan D.G. Fraser. Toronto: ECW Press, 2022.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Lenore Canada Research Chairs Canadian food writers Canadian geographers University of British Columbia alumni York University alumni 1973 births Living people Academic staff of the University of the Fraser Valley Sechelt