Events

Delegation visits at University of Waterloo:

  • The Chinese Delegation of agricultural technological extension centres in Shaanxi province. Dec. 10, 2019.
  • The Chinese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs. Oct. 30, 2019

Two book launches for our book Organic Food and Farming in China: Top-down and Bottom-up Ecological Initiatives at Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Nov. 22, 2018 and University of British Columbia, Jun. 2, 2019.

Guelph Organic Conference Session: What’s happening in the ecological and organic sector in China, and how does it compare to Canada?

January 26, 2020
University of Guelph, Canada

China has the fifth-largest area of certified organic farmland in the world (at 1.6 million hectares), and is the world’s fourth-largest consumer of certified organic foods with sales of nearly $5.6 billion (IFOAM). Three of the four presenters recently published a book, Organic Food and Farming in China: Top-down and bottom up ecological initiatives (Routledge, 2018). This session provides an overview of the ecological and organic sector in China, with some comparisons to Canada.

Steffanie Scott and Zhenzhong Si. 2020. “China’s organic sector.” 2020 Guelph Organic Conference. University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada, January 25-26.

Scaling Out Agroecology Practices in China

April 27-28, 2019
Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

The conference goals are to engage with stakeholders in China’s ecological food sector, share and discuss recent research findings, identify the entry points to translate research into practical solutions and policy innovations, raise public awareness of the work of various stakeholders about ecological agriculture developments, and deepen partnerships with key stakeholders and organizations in China to strengthen networks.

Download the conference program (PDF).

Download the summary of the conference (DOCX).

Place-Based Food Systems Conference Session: Food Systems Research and Ecological Agriculture in China

August 9-10, 2018
Richmond, Canada

Presenters:

  • Steffanie Scott, University of Waterloo
  • Ning Dai, University of Waterloo
  • Li Yanyan, Renmin University of China
  • Weiping Chen, Renmin University of China
  • Danshu Qi, University of Waterloo

Zhenzhong Si and Steffanie Scott. 2018. “Using agroecology to advance Sustainable Development Goals in China: Pathways of transition towards a sustainable food system”. Place-Based Food Systems Conference, Richmond, Canada, August 9-10.

Building University-Community Partnerships for Sustainable Food Systems in China Workshop

August 15-16, 2017
Beijing, China

The two-day workshop was co-organized by U of Waterloo professor Steffanie Scott and her research team with 45 Chinese researchers, students, farmers, community partners, and NGO leaders in Beijing. This dialogue highlighted drivers of and barriers to the transition from uniform industrial food systems to diversified agroecological ones. Participants shared their perspectives on ecological agriculture, underscoring its diversity in China and its contributions to equity and the environment.

Download the workshop program (DOC)

Download the summary of the workshop (DOCX)

China Conference on Agro-ecology and Ecological Agriculture Session: Pathways of Transition Towards a Sustainable Food System:
Scaling Out Agroecology Practices in China

August 11-13, 2017
Yan'an, China

The key focus of this special session is to present and discuss research that identifies and documents promising pathways for a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems in China. As a framework for our discussion, we will examine and adapt for a Chinese context the 2016 report, From uniformity to diversity: a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food systems, 2016; also translated into Chinese).

Presenters:

  • Qiao Yuhui, China Agricultural University
  • Chen Weiping, Renmin University of China
  • Li Zhou, Ping Fang and Yanyan Li. Renmin University of China
  • Huan Yang. Central China Normal University
  • Li Zhang, Gubo Qi, China Agricultural University
  • Biao Xie, Nanjing Normal University
  • Steffanie Scott, University of Waterloo
  • Zhenzhong Si, University of Waterloo
  • Danshu Qi, University of Waterloo
  • Ning Dai, University of Waterloo
  • Hannah Wittman, University of British Columbia

The 33rd International Geographical Congress Session: China’s Changing Food System

August 21-25, 2016
Beijing, China

This session examines various dimensions of the fundamental changes underway in

China's agro-food sector, including the policy and practice around the protection of China’s agricultural land; exploring why farmers support land privatization; China’s ongoing transition to a more “neoliberal” farmland use regime; the turn by peasants and urban consumers alike new models to maximize social welfare and enhances food safety; emerging‘alternative food systems’ and ‘alternative food networks’ in China and China’s path in developing and organic agriculturesector. The session demonstrates the role of China’s political economy in shaping opportunities and constraints for developing a more sustainable food system.

2016 World Congress of Rural Sociology Session: Perspectives on China's Changing Food System

August 10-14, 2016
Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

Presenters: