Matthew Gaudreau is a doctoral candidate at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, in the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment. His research interests relate to global food politics and the political economy of food, while his dissertation focuses on China’s relationship to the global seed industry. He has previously published in the Journal of Environment and Development, Global Environmental Politics, and Canadian Food Studies, as well as a recent chapter in the book Facing China as a New Global Superpower. His presentation will introduce China’s changing place in the “global food system” with a view to the future.
Hingman Leung has built upon her Bachelor of Environmental Studies with a career in the Canadian Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, working on domestic and international waste policy, climate change, and Canada-China bilateral relations. Hingman has recently completed a Master of Arts in International and Intercultural Communications, complementing her science and policy background with human-based research methods. Her research interests aim to bridge the gap between science-based policy development and cultural studies to support sustainable development. Hingman will present her short documentary, No Doggy Bag Please, which was awarded the 2015 Public Ethnography Award. The documentary is is an ethnographic exploration of Chinese attitudes towards food and food waste. She hopes that the documentary can help start conversations about our food waste practices at home, as well as similarities and differences between cultural practices.