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In the face of chronic food insecurity brought on by centuries of colonialism, some Indigenous communities in Canada are turning to the social and solidarity economy to craft their own solutions to hunger. This paper explores these solutions, using a case study of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative (NMFCCC) to illustrate how they are helping to implement the second Sustainable Development Goal – zero hunger. Through local initiatives such as community gardens and greenhouses, co-operatives, community kitchens, school gardens, community-based food programs, food markets and public-sector procurement, they are also helping to implement other Sustainable Development Goals, while providing models that can be replicated in diverse communities. The emphasis on community ownership, control and benefits highlights the importance of a definition of the SSE that is based on community needs.

To understand how the proghrelin system functions in regulating growth hormone release and food intake as well as defining its pleiotropic roles in such diverse physiological processes as energy homeostasis, gastrointestinal tract function and reproduction require detailed knowledge of the structure and function of the components that comprise this system. These include the preproghrelin gene that encodes the proghrelin precursor protein from which two peptide hormones, ghrelin and obestatin, are derived and the cognate receptors that bind proghrelin-derived peptides to mediate their physiological actions in different tissues. Also key to the functioning of this system is the posttranslational processing of the proghrelin precursor protein and the individual peptides derived from it. While this system has been intensively studied in a variety of animal species and humans over the last decade, there has been considerably less investigation of the avian proghrelin system which exhibits some unique differences compared to mammals. This review summarizes what is currently known about the proghrelin system in birds and offers new insights into the nature and function of this important endocrine system. Such information facilitates cross-species comparisons and contributes to our understanding of the evolution of the proghrelin system.

Both dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and presence of the IGF-I transgene are reported to alter the fat:lean content of pigs. The purpose of this study was to compare the growth and body composition of control and IGF-I transgenic pigs in response to dietary CLA. Transgenic (TG) pigs expressing the IGF-I gene and sibling control (C) progeny were produced by mating two half-sib G-1 transgenic boars to non-transgenic gilts. At 60 kg each pig was scanned by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for body composition analysis, then placed on an 18% crude protein diet containing either 2% corn oil (CO diet) or 1.2% CO plus 0.8% CLA. Thus, the four genotype-diet combinations were: C-CO (n=25), C-CLA (n=25), TG-CO (n=24), and TG-CLA (n=23). Each pig was scanned again at 110 kg. All pigs were slaughtered at 120 kg and the right half-carcass was scanned by DXA. Results of the DXA scan at 60 kg revealed that the TG pigs were less fat (15.0%) than the C pigs (18.8%, P < 0.05). During growth from 60 to 110 kg, the tissue gain for the C-CO, C-CLA, TG-CO, and TG-CLA groups consisted of 16.6, 14.5, 13.2, and 13.0 kg of fat (P < 0.05, C-CO vs. C-CLA and C vs. TG); and 30.6, 32.6, 33.7, and 33.8 kg of lean (P < 0.05, C-CO vs. C-CLA and C vs. TG), respectively. There were only minor differences in bone growth. For the same groups, chemical analysis of the half-carcass revealed 29.2, 27.1, 23.8, and 22.8% fat (P < 0.05 for C-CO vs. C-CLA and C vs. TG), respectively. Overall, the effects of CLA were less than those of TG on body or carcass composition; however, during the treatment period from 60 to 110 kg, the effects were similar. TG pigs did not respond to CLA as much as did control pigs., Effets de l'acide linoléique conjugué sur la croissance et la composition corporelle de porcs normaux et transgéniques IGF-I. L'acide linoléique conjugué (CLA) et la présence du transgène IGF-I ont tous deux des effets sur la composition corporelle du porc. L'objectif de cette étude était de comparer la croissance et la composition corporelle de porcs normaux et transgéniques IGF-I recevant dans leur ration du CLA. Des porcs transgéniques exprimant le gène IGF-I (TG) et des porcs témoins (C) ont été produits en croisant 2 verrats transgéniques de la même famille avec des truies normales. A 60 kg, chaque porc a été scanné par absorptiométrie biphotonique à rayons X (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, DXA) et a reçu une ration avec 18 % de matières azotées, contenant soit 2,0 % d'huile de maïs (CO), soit 1,2 % d'huile de maïs et 0,8 % de CLA. Ainsi 4 combinaisons génotypes × rations ont été obtenues : C-CO (n=25), C-CLA (n=25), TG-CO (n=24) et TG-CLA (n=23). Chaque porc a été de nouveau scanné à 110 kg. Tous ont été abattus à 120 kg et leur demi-carcasse droite scannée et analysée chimiquement. Les résultats de la scanographie faite à 60 kg montrent que les porcs TG avaient une teneur moindre en gras (15,0 %) que les porcs C (18,8 %, P < 0,05). Durant la période de croissance de 60 à 110 kg, le gain tissulaire des groupes C-CO, C-CLA, TG-CO et TG-CLA se composait de 16,6, 14,5, 13,2 et 13,0 kg de gras (P < 0,05, C-CO vs. C-CLA et C vs. TG) et 30,6, 32,6, 33,7 et 33,8 kg de viande maigre (P < 0,05, C-CO vs. C-CLA et C vs. TG), respectivement. La croissance osseuse n'a montré que de faibles variations. Pour les mêmes groupes, la teneur en gras de la demi-carcasse, mesurée par analyse chimique, était de 29,2, 27,1, 23,8 et 22,8 % (P < 0,05, C-CO vs. C-CLA et C vs. TG) respectivement. D'une manière générale, les effets du CLA ont été moins prononcés sur la composition corporelle et sur la carcasse que ceux dus à la présence du transgène IGF-I, mais ils ont été semblables durant la période expérimentale de 60 à 110 kg. Les porcs TG ont été moins sensibles à l'apport de CLA que les porcs témoins.