Québec City to host international conference

Québec City and Université Laval will host a major international conference on using insects as food for both humans and animals. June 3 to 6, 2020, the 3rd International Insects to Feed the World Conference (IFW), at the Québec City Convention Centre, will bring together 500 experts from around the globe to discuss the status of research and the potential of insect protein for feeding the world.

A first in Canada!

The first two editions of this event were held in the Netherlands in 2014 and China in 2018. Canada will host the conference in 2020 thanks to the efforts of Professor Grant Vandenberg and Marie-Hélène Deschamps, who heads up the Entotechnology Program in the Animal Science Department at Université Laval’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. Both researchers are well known internationally for their work on insect-based fish diets. Together with Jocelyn Guertin, Québec City Convention Centre Sales Manager, they helped convince the international committee to select Québec to host the event.

An emerging industry

“Well known internationally as a tourist destination, Québec City has also become an important player regarding agricultural food system innovations, via its academic and public research institutes, as well as a vibrant private agri-food sector. Over the past number of years, we have seen the emergence of enthusiastic insect-based research programs and private ventures, buoyed by visionary environmental guidelines related to sustainable development that have helped to fuel growing interest in these opportunities.

Given these factors, we are convinced that Québec City represents an ideal venue to discuss the many issues related to ento-technologies that require attention by a wide range of international stakeholders from both public and private sectors, related to food and feed security, research, development and policy/regulatory issues,”, explains Grant Vandenberg, member of the Québec City Ambassadors Club.

Photo:
Jocelyn Guertin, Sales Manager, Québec City Convention Centre,
Marie-Hélène Deschamps, Head of the Entotechnology Program, Animal Science Department, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Université Laval
Grant Vandenberg, Full Professor, Animal Science Department, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Université Laval
Pierre Bolduc, Business Development, Conferium, Conferences, Events, Service