Search for ""

GM plants were first marketed in the 1990s. The first commercialized GM crop was a TOMATO called Flavr Savr (resistant to rotting), marketed in 1994 by a US-based company, Calgene. Since then, many GM crops have been commercialized.

Today's greenhouse industry uses the most modern technologies, which allow it to reduce their negative effects on the environment, to considerably improve the energetic efficiency of crops (used energy by unit production) and thus to remain competitive in national and international markets.

Hanoverhill Starbuck, Holstein sire (born 26 April 1979 in Port Perry, ON; died 17 September 1998 in St-Hyacinthe, QC).

Tommy Douglas — the father of socialized medicine in Canada and one of the country’s most beloved figures — once supported eugenic policies. In 1933, he received a Master of Arts in sociology from McMaster University for his thesis, “The Problems of the Subnormal Family.” In the thesis, Douglas recommended several eugenic policies, including the sterilization of “mental defectives and those incurably diseased.” His ideas were not unique, as two Canadian provinces (and 32 American states) passed sexual-sterilization legislation in the 1920s and 1930s. However, by the time Douglas became premier of Saskatchewan in 1944, he had abandoned his support for eugenic policies. When Douglas received two reports that recommended legalizing sexual sterilization in the province, he rejected the idea.

The practice of sterilization arose out of the eugenics movement and has a long, often hidden history in Canada. Sterilization legislation in Alberta (1928–72) and British Columbia (1933–73) attempted to limit the reproduction of “unfit” persons, and increasingly targeted Indigenous women. Coerced sterilization of Indigenous women took place both within and outside existing legislation, and in federally operated Indian hospitals. The practice has continued into the 21st century. Approximately 100 Indigenous women have alleged that they were pressured to consent to sterilization between the 1970s and 2018, often while in the vulnerable state of pregnancy or childbirth.

For more than a century, the federal government has funded agricultural research through a network of research centres strategically placed in almost every province. This research program has played a major role in developing the more than $120-billion Canadian agrifood industry.

Agroforestry is an intensive land management system that integrates the benefits from biological interactions created when trees or shrubs are intentionally grown with crops or livestock.

Opened on 7 February 1990, the Montréal Insectarium is part of the “Space for Life” network, which includes Montréal’s Biodome, Planetarium and Botanical Garden.

Drainage problems are caused by an excess of water at the SOIL surface or in the root zone.

Crop research may be defined as activity directed to making the production, marketing and use of commercial crops more efficient and profitable.

Lemming, stocky northern rodent related to voles. About 16 species occur worldwide; best known of the 7 Canadian species are brown and collared lemmings.

Aquaculture is the human-controlled cultivation and harvest of freshwater and marine plants and animals. Synonyms include fish farming, fish culture, mariculture, fish breeding and ocean ranching.

Bacteria are microscopic single-celled organisms capable of rapid growth and division.

Ornamentals, in horticulture, include both woody and herbaceous plants used primarily as amenities.

Experimental Farm, see RESEARCH STATIONS.

Biotechnology was defined by the 1981 Federal Task Force on Biotechnology (Brossard Committee) as the "utilization of biological processes, be they microbial, plant, animal cells or their constituents, for the provision of goods and services.

A biological product is a substance derived from a living organism and used for the prevention or treatment of disease. Biologicals are usually too complex for chemical synthesis by a laboratory. These products include antitoxins, bacterial and viral vaccines, blood products and hormone extracts.