Marney Isaac
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marneyisaac.bsky.social
Marney Isaac
@marneyisaac.bsky.social
University of Toronto professor | Canada Research Chair in Agroecosystems | agroecology, crop diversity, soil fertility, agroforestry, sustainable food systems, urban agriculture
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Hi! As an introduction for new followers, my research investigates transitions to sustainable agriculture. We track soil health, crop profiles, agrobiodiversity, carbon dynamics, but also farmer networks and farmer well-being. #agroecology #agroforestry #foodsystem

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
New paper out on soil quality along an agroecological transition. Our findings show that transitioning to natural farming, even after just 2 years of removing pesticides and adding bio-inputs, had positive detectable effects on soil health.

#agroecology #soil

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Soil quality changes along an agroecological transition: Evidence from natural farming in Madhya Pradesh, India
The scale and intensity of current agricultural practices have negative impacts on soil quality. Shifting to agroecological and natural farming practi…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:19 PM
“…develop a non-market farmland acquisition program in the peri-urban areas of every province to ensure Class 1 and 2 farmland is available for food production at rental/lease rates aligned with the land’s food production value”

YES PLEASE 🙏

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Alternative federal budget 2026: Agriculture - CCPA
What the Canadian government should do on agriculture. Because true independence needs a new economic model.
www.policyalternatives.ca
October 29, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
Proud to launch Agronomy for Sustainable Development (ASD) on Bluesky. This international journal, ranked second worldwide in Agronomy, publishes novel experimental, empirical and theoretical research, review and meta-analysis articles aimed at improving agricultural and food systems sustainability.
October 10, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
Ever wondered what your food really costs?
Behind every bite lies a web of invisible costs to people & planet.

This #WorldFoodDay2025, join GAIN, True Price Foundation, ATNI & the Netherlands Food Partnership for a deep dive into #TrueCostAccounting.

@stefanbnilsson.bsky.social
October 8, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
“In a city once choked with cars and infamous for its traffic snarls, Paris has pulled off a remarkable turnaround…the French capital has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently.” Via @momentummag.bsky.social

A victory for FAST leadership.
Paris Pedals to the Top: How the City of Light Became Europe’s Best for Young Cyclists
The French capital has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently
momentummag.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:16 AM
A new paper out in Land Use Policy - “Land tenure (in)security in the context of urban flood risk in Ghana.”

We show that flood risk management through post-flood land use planning has potential to have dual impacts on community resilience and tenure security.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Land tenure (in) security in the context of urban flood risk in Ghana
The increasing incidence of floods driven by urbanization and climate change destabilizes urban social, economic and environmental systems where land …
www.sciencedirect.com
October 5, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
According to the City of Paris, in the last 10 years 150K trees have been planted & 45ha of parks created in the already hot city, all intended to not only improve quality-of-life today, but also help the city adapt to & manage summer heatwaves of 50℃ (122F) by 2050.

Just the start.

Common sense.
October 5, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Currently at the La Baldi artist residency working on integrating science into art. My collective uses an ecological lens to make art that explores climate change, following in the literary genre of cli fi. An honour to have the space and time to do this. #clifi #climatechange #interdisciplinaryart
October 4, 2025 at 7:51 AM
CULTIVATE is an evolving collection of interdisciplinary artists, writers, and researchers driven by investigations of land, place, and the commons.

I will be joining CULTIVATEs La Baldi Residency as part of a collective next week. Such an honour. More to come…

www.cultivateprojects.net/la-baldi
September 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Exploring Rooftop Agriculture Research at the University of Toronto!

This event brings together research teams to showcase ongoing work and explore future opportunities for integrating rooftop agriculture into Toronto’s green infrastructure.

Register here:

www.eventbrite.ca/e/exploring-...
Exploring Rooftop Agriculture Research at the University of Toronto
Guided tour and presentations on field research conducted at UofT
www.eventbrite.ca
September 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Our research program on urban and peri-urban agriculture is now on IG. Give us a follow!

@urbanagroecology

And for more info on research progress and outputs, check:

utsc.utoronto.ca/foodandfarm/...

@sshrc-crsh.canada.ca
@utsc.utoronto.ca

#urbanagriculture #climatemitigation #agroecology
September 16, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
New starter pack! go.bsky.app/9mZrrpQ
September 10, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Great day sampling our new agricultural trials. Gas fluxes, leaf physiology, and crop trait strategies under various organic amendments in different urban and peri-urban environments…

#agroecology #urbanagriculture
July 16, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
Industrial food systems are driving fossil fuel use – and vice versa.

@foodtank.bsky.social covers our #FuelToFork report, unpacking how food's fossil fuel addiction drives risks for climate, ecology, health, and food access – and how we can break the cycle.

🔗 foodtank.com/news/2025/07...
The Food System’s Fossil Fuel Crisis
From fertilizer to packaging, fossil fuels are flooding the food system—this report shows what it will take to stop it.
foodtank.com
July 7, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
🌱 How can we grow a more resilient future, together?

Join Roots of Resilience – Enhancing #Biodiversity through #Agroecology
📅 Wed 9 July
⏲️ 10–12 CET
🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/agroecolog...

Explore research, farmer insights & policy with #AgroecologyTRANSECT

#HorizonEurope
July 1, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
Agroecology and degrowth are more than ideas at Jonai Farms – they shape how food is grown, shared and valued.

This story looks at what it takes to build a just food system, starting from the ground up.

Read the full feature by SEI's Aziliz Le Rouzo: www.sei.org/features/agr...
Agroecology can’t grow on broken ground: farmers leading the degrowth transition
Jonai Farms shows how agroecology and degrowth can work hand in hand to build just, resilient food systems rooted in care, community and ecological balance.
www.sei.org
June 23, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
How can agroecology build a more biodiverse, resilient EU food system?

🌱Join our #AgroecologyTRANSECT Virtual Roadshow!
📅 Wed 9 Jul, 10–12 CET👇
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/agroecolog...

🦋 Explore real-world solutions for #biodiversity & #ClimateResilience with visual storytelling & dynamic discussion
June 24, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Honoured to share that our paper on the environmental and social benefits of diversified agriculture won the Frontiers Planet Prize! Proud of the team & thrilled that these important agricultural systems are recognized.

www.frontiersplanetprize.org

#agroecology

www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture
Agricultural simplification continues to expand at the expense of more diverse forms of agriculture. This simplification, for example, in the form of intensively managed monocultures, poses a risk to ...
www.science.org
June 24, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Shame on Metrolinx for not having the foresight to plan for urban trees. My neighbourhood tree is coming down today. This is not NIMBYism, this is just bad planning and lack of any actual serious consultation.

@toronto.ca
@petertabuns.bsky.social
‪@juliedabrusin.bsky.social

#metrolinx
May 30, 2025 at 1:07 PM
A mayor, a provincial minister and a member of parliament, all out to support the expansion of urban agriculture in hydro corridors! 👏
#agroecology #toronto
May 3, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
Increasing urban vegetation by 30% could have prevented 30% of all heat-related deaths, potentially saving up to ~1.1 million lives globally from 2000 to 2019, according to a study of over 11,000 urban areas.

Any lessons for the future…

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Estimating the urban heat-related mortality burden due to greenness: a global modelling study
This modelling study suggests that increased greenness could substantially reduce the heat-related mortality burden. Preserving and expanding greenness might be potential strategies to lower ambient t...
www.thelancet.com
May 3, 2025 at 6:58 AM
New field site visits today! Launching research trials in urban and peri-urban agriculture with amendment and crop diversity trials in hydro corridors, next to major highways and right in the city, sampling everything from microbial communities, to soil health, to pollinators, to yield.
#toronto
April 24, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Great to see our paper on diversified agricultural systems, published in Science, selected as a 2025 national Frontiers Planet Prize champion!

This global dataset was curated by an amazing team of researchers working in agriculture and sustainability.

www.frontiersplanetprize.org/news/nsh4fah...
A More Diverse Agriculture for the Future of Our Planet — Frontiers Planet Prize
Zia Mehrabi from the University of Colorado Boulder, National Champion for the USA, presents groundbreaking research from a global collaboration showing how increasing on-farm diversity improves both ...
www.frontiersplanetprize.org
April 22, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Marney Isaac
CAUT writes: “Travellers leaving or returning to Canada, particularly those traveling to the U.S., are increasingly vulnerable to preclearance zones and border searches that may compromise research confidentiality and academic freedom,”

www.politico.com/news/2025/04...
Canada professors association tells academics to stay away from US
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump continues to crack down on higher education and international students.
www.politico.com
April 15, 2025 at 9:24 PM
“Coffee companies around the world… have been hit by record coffee prices owing to unfavourable weather conditions in growing regions”

Lessen the pain of tariffs with agroforestry - with the right management #agroforestry can reduce climatic stressors in coffee farms.

www.ft.com/content/a3ce...
US coffee drinkers in for double shot of pain from tariffs
Beans and chocolate prices set to rise as a result of new levies
www.ft.com
April 4, 2025 at 10:49 AM