Universite Laval ag professor Maurice Doyon has become the first ever in Canada to add a title like this to his CV: economic research chair on the egg industry.
Doyon, a professor in the Quebec City university’s faculty of agriculture and food and its department of agrifood economics, was named to the unique chair Thursday by Paul Fortier, the school’s vice-president of research and innovation.
The new chair was founded with the goal of stimulating “creation of cutting-edge university knowledge about the egg producing industry, while generating information that promotes the growth and development of this ever-changing sector,” according to a release from Egg Farmers of Canada.
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The national egg producers’ body on Thursday pledged a total of $770,000 to fund the new chair over the next seven years.
Specifically, Doyon and his team are expected to look at issues such as the economic impact of disease control, concerns about the pricing model, international agreements on trade, and the costs and benefits associated with reducing the industry’s “eco-footprint.”
The new chair will also spearhead study of changes in egg consumption habits, the growth of the specialty egg market, consumer interest in the functional properties of these foods, and the impact of animal welfare on product demand.
“The scientific knowledge created by Dr. Doyon and his multidisciplinary team will help the egg industry remain a leader in the Canadian agricultural sector as well as contribute to its international development,” Fortier said in the release.
“We need the brightest minds in our academic institutions to guide the egg industry forward,” said Egg Farmers of Canada chairman Laurent Souligny, a producer from eastern Ontario’s Prescott County, near Ottawa.
