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Environmental sustainability plays key role in two agri-food organizations

April 30, 2008

Guelph, Ont. – Environmental sustainability has long been a key area of research at the
George Morris Centre (GMC), thanks to the efforts of Senior Research Associate,
Cher Brethour. Starting May 20, 2008, Brethour will transfer her environmental
expertise to a new role as Director of Sustainability Services at the Guelph
Food Technology Centre (GFTC).

A
recent grant of $1 million from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), part of the Food Processing Environmental
Sustainability Project, has allowed the GFTC to develop the Sustainability
Services portfolio. The funding for GFTC is intended to develop environment and
energy assessment and training programs, and sustainable package design and
training programs for the Ontario food and beverage industry, as part of a
larger initiative to increase competitiveness by reducing energy and input
costs while building more environmentally sustainable processes.

Brethour
says of her current and future opportunities, my goal for the environmental
research area at GMC has always been to provide sound economic-based research
that helps the agri-food sector make environmentally sustainable, competitive
business decisions. This new opportunity will allow me to focus on the food and
beverage processing sector, and further enhance the goal of a competitive,
environmentally sustainable agri-food sector in both Ontario and Canada.

Gary
Fread, GFTCs president and CEO, is pleased to welcome Brethour aboard. We are pleased to have
Cher join us. We have followed her
activities at GMC and believe she will be an excellent addition to our
organization. Her training and background make her extremely well suited to the
task before us. We also look forward to the opportunity to work closely with
GMC, to build on the work they have already done in the area of environmental
sustainability and move in innovative new directions that will benefit the Ontario food processing sector in a
significant way.

Brethour
joined the George Morris Centre in 1999, after earning a Master of Science
degree in Agricultural Economics and Business at the University of Guelph. Her tireless efforts turned
environmental economics into one of the main pillars of research for the
Centre, and the Centres team is well suited to build on that strong foundation.

We
truly appreciate the work that Cher has done, and we wish her luck in her new endeavour. We
also look forward to an even stronger relationship between the George Morris
Centre and the Guelph Food Technology Centre. The interface between
environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and financial
profitability is becoming much more prominent, and the growing programs at both
GMC and GFTC will continue to lead the way in providing solutions for industry,
government and individuals says Jim Oehmke, George Morris Centre CEO.