Ryan Brook

Dr. Ryan Brook is an assistant professor with the Indigenous Land Management Institute
and Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan. He is a co-investigator on the original MAFRA proposal and his research focuses on wildlife-agriculture interactions in collaboration with aboriginal and rural communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, especially related to diseases that are of concern to wildlife and humans such as bovine tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease. His work is transdisciplinary, utilizing both ecological and social research, and involves collaborations with scientists in veterinary medicine, biology, environment, law, and geography. He is interested in the food movement because it highlights the important
connections between wildlife and people. Wildlife are food but the connections are typically much
more, with important cultural and spiritual connections as well. He believes that rural and aboriginal youth have much to contribute to the issues of food security and must be supported with training and opportunities to ensure that as they transition from pre-school to university they have the necessary tools to communicate, think critically, and be passionate about their community and their environment.