Volunteers Wanted For Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month

Jan 24, 2022

Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba (AITC-M) is gearing up for Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM) coming up in March.

Sue Clayton is executive director.

"This year we've just recently made the difficult decision that we will not be going in person into classrooms but we're still doing virtual visits," she said. "We're asking people to register to volunteer to go into classrooms around Manitoba virtually. If people are interested in that, I would encourage them to go to our website."

Volunteers have until February 4th to register.

Clayton says this year a seed kit will be provided to teachers to assist with the agriculture programming.

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Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.