The latest edition of Canada’s Food Guide will soon be released. Today in The Conversation Canada, biocultural anthropologist Sarah Duignan of McMaster University takes a look at the history of the guide which, she says, “has long been rooted in economic agendas.” She also notes that early drafts of the guide do not “appear to tackle the important economic, social and cultural barriers many individuals and families face to accessing healthy food.”

That’s just one of many fabulous reads we have for you this Friday:

• Authors from the University of Guelph and the University of Saskatchewan have teamed up to look at the “major fault line” among agricultural and environmental concerns. While some environmentalists are critical of farming practices, the reality is that there’s a close interdependence between agriculture and biodiversity.
• Hugh Stephens of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, who’s also a distinguished fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, says it’s time for both China and Canada to tone down the rhetoric – especially if Ottawa wants to save the life of a Canadian man convicted of drug smuggling in China.
• Planetary scientist Sara Mazrouei of the University of Toronto writes about her new research on the craters of the moon – which also sheds light on the age of craters on Earth.

And finally…if you have a chance, make your way to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto to check out the new exhibition by Mickalene Thomas called “Femmes Noires.” Cheryl Thompson of Ryerson University says the works by the African-American artist are powerful, but that she would also like to see an exhibit by an African-Canadian female artist.

Regards,