WUR & UoG

I am wrapping up my time here in Holland very quickly. Tomorrow I hope to leave Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam at 10:55 AM, grab a connection in Chicago’s O’Hare airport and arrive in Calgary hopefully at 18:29 Alberta time.

So, how was WUR?

WUR was great. I learned alot about the intricacies and complexities of setting up a sustainable food supply chain. Right now I am not going to go into much more details about what all I exactly learned, but rather would like to discuss the eduation system at Wageningen with my Canadian experiences.

In Canada, (or, at least in Kwantlen University College, University of British Columbia and University of Guelph), the school year is divided into four-month semesters. Each semester you take approximatly 4-5 courses at the bachelor level and 3-4 courses at the master’s level. One professor sometimes assisted by a teacher’s aid, lab technician, etc, delivers the entire course material.

In Wageningen the structure is somewhat different. First, the year is divided in two month periods. Also, rather then having only one professor the entire period, each week we had a different professor because each week we studied a different aspect of the chain (for example, risk, economics, environmental sustainability etc) and each week an expert in the particular subject matter delivered the lecture. Occasionally, a guest professor delivered the lecture. This resulted in a continuously dynamic and fresh classroom environment. One professor was responsible for, and facilitated the entire course. He also sat in every lecture, and if I’m not mistaken is the one who also will be grading the exams.

Which is better? Hard to say…there is of course less professor-student contact in the WUR style, but on the other hand the WUR style does result in high quality education.

Enough for now. I have a few things to do yet before tomorrow.

If I don’t post anything before Dec 25th, I wish you all a nice Christmas.

p.s. The weather in Holland has turned wintery. Pretty, but I’d rather have had it if it started snowing December 23rd. Tomorrow I hope to leave early for the airport. I do not want to be late!

The Concept of Naturality & Farming Systems

A little while ago we had a rather informative lecture on the social perspectives of farming found in different countries. Specifically, we learned about the perception of farm naturality in the Netherlands and Norway.

Naturality is a concept that relates animal farming practices with the ‘natural’ environment the animal would live in. It is generally thought that for improved animal welfare, animals should be cared for in a natural way. The degree of naturalness, however, is the point of contention. Even more specifically, the definition of what is a natural agricultural production system differs. Why?

Dutch society generally want their dairy cows to be outside, grazing fresh grass, etc. On the other hand, the general Norwegian perspective on dairy naturality is that the cow may be housed indoors (but preferably allowed to graze too), calves housed in calf hutches and fed milk replacement powder, etc. In summary, the Dutch want dairy farms to resemble nature, while the Norwegians see natural dairy production in terms of farmer-animal contact. Why these different perspectives on how dairy farms ought to be?

Perhaps the answer lies in the different societal domains in Norway and the Netherlands.

A societal domain can be thought of as a cluster of individuals, organisms and landscapes interacting together in a uniquely distinct manner. For example, an academic domain could be a university campus with undergraduate and graduate students interacting with each other and with professors. Such a domain is obviously much different than a nuclear family domain. The values and objectives of each domain may also be quite different too. Back to agriculture though and why society may have different perspectives on the naturality of animal husbandry.

In Norway, there may be three general land use domains: Urban, Rural and Nature domains with the following characteristics:

As you can see, farming in Norway operates as an interface between the urban and nature domains. Now, consider the Dutch land-use domains. In the Netherlands there are typically two types: the urban and the Green domain as shown in the powerpoint slide below:

Within the Netherlands, 63% of the population believes that there is no “real” nature, and most natural environments are either built or managed by people (e.g. parks, green space etc). One exception to this may be the Biesbos which is still a wild nature reserve in Holland. However, clearly these different domain perspectives result in different views of farms. In Holland, farms are part of the green domain and are part of nature, while in Norway, farms are not part of nature but between the nature and urban domain. In Norway, cows are part of the rural domain but not part of the natural domain, hence they can be managed in a more intense manner, while in the Netherlands, 90% of society considers cows part of the landscape! Furthermore, in Norway many farms play an important role in segregating the urban domain from the more dangerous natural domain, while in Holland the green domain prevents the sprawl of the urban domain.

So, what was the take home message of this lecture?

These differing social perspectives play an important role in ascertaining how farms should function. It guides rural policy development. It highlights the need to reconnect people with where food comes from. It explains why dairy farming in the Netherlands may be increasingly regulated (e.g. imposing restrictions on large-scale commercial farms) while in other countries farms are actively supported. Last year we learned about Agriculture Policy in Guelph. In the UK farms are increasingly becoming stewards of the land rather than producers of food and the government is promoting such activities. This lecture may have shed light on why!

Ha det!

You doing anything out there?

A few minutes ago I was chatting with my brother on msn. His first message was: “You doing anything out there?…no pics…no blog…”
Very true. I am not going to apologies like I did last week, because after all I don’t want to be enslaved to the blog. I am not posting because I don’t have anything to post about. Au contraire! Last week I was working on a post about an interesting lecture I had, but didn’t get that finished yet. So, instead this one will be first – because it is easier to do

So, what is new over here in the country of wooden shoes, windmills and Frikandel Speciaal? Well, first of all I have less then three weeks time left in Holland. That means I there are many things which I hope to be able to do yet in these 19 days (425 hours).  However, if all goes well, I may post more about these things at a later date.

Last weekend I visited friends in Rotterdam. On Saturday I toured the oldest city of Holland, Dordrecht. Although the weather was a bit cool and rainy outside it was a very rewarding day. I walked through the commercial district, browsed the markets and explored the old city. Het Groothoofdspoort (built 1618/1619) was neat to see. The city’s shield is mounted on the inside of the gate, and on the outside is the stedenmaagd. (The stedenmaagd is a methodological figurine). It is interesting that when this gate was built (or rather fortified, as the original gate was built circa 1450), the city also witnessed the only National Reformed Synod. So, I also visited the church where this monumental synod was held: het Grote Kerk (translation: the Great Church).

The late-Gothic style church was rebuilt after a city-wide fire destroyed it in 1457. Although normally the church is supposed to be open Saturday afternoons, this Saturday, being a rainy, cold November Saturday, the custodian decided not to open the church but rather took the day off. However, I was able to climb the church tower. After climbing 275 narrow treads, I could look at the workings of the clock, hear the bell chime real close by, and had panoramic views of the city and the three rivers which join within her. Here are a few pictures:

Looking down the stairwell:

At the clockwork:

and of the view:

In the evening, my friends and I went to the Euromast and had a very nice view of Rotterdam at night:

The Euromast at 185 meters tall:

And lastly of the Eurasmus Bridge:

Well, that is enough for tonight. Hope you all are doing well.

Bye for now.

Hotel de Wereld

Yesterday I had a unique experience. Or, rather, very unique.

I had the opportunity of dining in Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen with a business associate from Belgium. This hotel is unique for several reasons. First, it is the most luxurious restaurant I have ever dined in. The food was very delicious. Secondly, this hotel witnessed the capitulation negotiations between German and Canadian troops in May 1945.

The Canadian Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes entered into these negotiations with the German Lieutenant-General Reichelt at 11 AM on Saturday, May 5, 1945. His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard, Commander of the dutch military was also present during this preliminary meeting. During this meeting, the German officer was commanded to return in the afternoon, accompanied by General Johannes Blaskowitz, the commander of the 25th German army.

These two German officers, plus a translator, returned to Hotel De Wereld at four o’clock in the afternoon. After saluting each other, General Foulkes took his position on the large table and invited the German military officials to do the same. However, prior to entering into further negotiations, the General of the Canadian Liberation Forces noted the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard. Immediately the Germans rose and saluted the prince, who recognized their solute by waving his cigaret!

When General Foulkes asked General Blaskowitz if he was prepared to capitulate, the German answered with a curt: “Jawohl”. (Stichting Nationale Erfgoed Hotel de Wereld.  http://www.hotel-dewereld.nl/index_1.htm)

Holland was free.

Shalom

“Take the Roundabout 5th Exit”

First of all, my apologies for the infrequent posting during the past week. I was quite busy with many different things, including school, work, thesis and social obligations. Sometimes, also, I just don’t feel like blogging.

This weekend I visited with some relatives in Capelle aan de Ijssel which is a borough of Rotterdam. Saturday morning, however, I first explored the historic Delft Harbour. Thankfully, because I have a GPS, I was able to navigate the complex interchanges of Rotterdam; hence the title of this posting!

The Delft Harbour has particular significance to us. It is where the Puritans left Holland for the New World aboard the Mayflower in Anno 1620. 389 years ago these people left Rotterdam in quest of religious freedom and a better future for their posterity. Now, in the year 2009, I had the priviledge of walking the same piers they have, studied the “Pelgrims Kerk” adjacent to the wharf’s where they worshiped, and seen some of the same old houses they may have lived. One house I saw was dated 1653. It was very interesting. Here is a picture of the Pelgrims Kerk:

And here you can see the wharf’s looking away from the city:

Also, that morning I visited a museum which was actively building the Dutch warship “De Delft” which fought in the war against England. The Delft sank in 1797 during the Battle of Camperduin, when the English navy decided not to play by the conventional rule book which dictated the two opponents to sail side by side and shoot as many cannon balls at the other party in order to sink the ship. What the English did in 1797 was novel: They sailed behind the Delft and shot cannon balls through the back. The result was, it traveled through the entire ship and out the front end again, wreaking havoc. Soon De Delft surrendered and after several days of being towed to England as war booty, sank in the North Sea. This boat, as I mentioned, is now being rebuilt.

It was interesting to see the details the military expended on the boat: ornate carved details throughout the boat; a huge tiger mascot carved from oak, etc. Actually, the museum is currently building two boats: one at 1/5 the scale of the real boat; and two, the real boat. They are doing this because they need to learn exactly how the boat ought to be built and can’t afford to make mistakes on a 63 meter long ship! Currently, only the ribs of the new ship are in place. Ever wonder how these wooden beams can be made into the graceful curves required for the ship’s hull? I didn’t. The answer is they grow crooked trees! I’m serious. Throughout Europe during this time epoch, Oak forests were maintained for the specific purpose of growing crooked trees. Often this included bending the saplings, and a business planning horizon of 100 years. Who would have thought!

So, I had a very interesting and informative time in the Historic Delft Harbour!

Now I am going to do some more work on my thesis. There is movement in that too again.

Hoist the Sails!

Bronkhorst

On Saturday I visited the smallest city in the Netherlands: Bronkhorst. With a population totalling 160, it is rather a small village.

Small, and old. Mathematically that can be represented as the following equation:  Quaintness = f(age, – population, architecture, history, landscape). On all five dimensions, Bronkhorst is quite significant.

There is an old chapel there, built in 1344. Many other buildings clearly showed signs of antiquity too. Small windows in the nooks of ancient brick homes:

Narrow, gnarly-tree lined, cobblestone streets:

and in the outskirts a lonely windmill milling in the cool November winds:

Lastly, I was taught the basics of wine-making. My uncle makes organic wines from many different types of fruits including grape, apple, strawberry, red-currents etc. It is a fascinating hobby. On Saturday evening we watched some video’s on their Israel trip several years ago. That too was very interesting. They went in February because they said that then the countryside was most picturesque with all the flowers, etc. In the summer it gets very hot and dry.

Uniquely Dutch

Q: What is more dutch than Gouda Cheese? More than wooden shoes?

A: Oliebollen.

This morning I was in Wageningen and saw an Oliebollen stand, and, I succumbed to the temptation. The problem was, they had many different kinds: apple-bollen, oliebollen, oliebollen with raisins and currents, apple-flappen, kersbollen, etc. This complicated problem was resolved by deciding to only sample two kinds today, and hopefully another day come back and try another kind. And again! Below are a few pictures of the situation:

Oliebollen have an interesting history. Based on Wikipedia and a few other dutch sites, it appears that there are actually two theories about the origin of the oliebol. The first one is that the early germanic tribes (Friesians and Batavians) ate these oily delicacies between December 26-January 6 to ward off the sword of the goddess Perchta and the ill effects of other evil spirits. People who ate the oliebol would have an oily stomach and causing Perchta’s sword to glance off. Another theory is that the oliebol was introduced to Northern Europe by Portuguese Jews fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition. The Portuguese Jews ate these oily cakes symbolically to the oil lamps in the Temple. The earliest known recipe is found in the cookbook titled de Verstandige Kock published in 1667.

Regardless of the history, the tradition is good.

Interesting Telecommunication Plans, etc

Communication is important.

Neil Postman writes in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death,  that the message is in the medium, and therefore different media communicate different information. Very true. A smoke signal, for example, transmits much less information then an email. Hence, I need different communication techniques for different objectives and audiences: blogging, emailing, phoning, texting, etc.

So, last week I purchased a dutch cell phone with a PrePaid plan. Fine. The standard plan is 0.35 euro/min and 0.23 euro/sms. Then, a few days ago, I looked a bit more closely at T-Mobile’s website, and see they have different options for PrePaid cell phones, and all options were cheaper than the standard. The only thing you have to do is text the desired plan to 1414, and a few minutes later your plan is changed. That’s it.

What I find interesting is that T-Mobile has all these different PrePaid plans, and that some bundles have  higher call, sms and mms rates, while the plan right beside it has lower rates for all three communication styles. So, in the future, whoever happens to buy a PrePaid cell phone in Holland from T-Mobile, right away text  “Prepaid 24/7″ to 1414.

Onto a different subject, today I had a very good conversation with the Commercial Officer from the Canadian Embassy in the Hague. He is organizing a Business Day in the Hague, exploring trade opportunities in healthy food ingredients between Canada and the Netherlands. We were both very excited after the conversation and I am looking forward to the event. Over 100 business people will be attending and the networking opportunities will undoubtedly be phenomenal.

Lastly, tonight I think I will be visiting with some of the married children of the family where I am boarding.

Tchau.

What I’m Learning Right Now

The past two lectures have been fascinating.

Risk in supply chains.

Professor Olaf Van Kooten introduced risk by describing the difference between real and perceived risk. He did this using DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Years) statistics for various ailments that are currently plaguing the dutch society. Because I don’t feel like explaining how DALY’s are calculated, just Google it, or for now just remember that a high DALY means a severe impact on society. In the Netherlands the general population is very concerned about pesticide and hormone residuals on food products, followed closely with microbiological contamination of food (e.g. Salmonella, E. coli, etc). In colloquial terms, these are “huge” problem and risks in society. Let’s look at the DALY’s:

Obesity (positive average calory balance): 100,000 – 300,000

Saturated Fatty Acids: 10,000-30,000

Gastro-intestinal ailments: 3,000-10,000

Campylobacter in food: 300-1000

(All figures from the presentation presented by Prof. Van Kooten).

So, in reality microbiological contamination is a much smaller problem in reality then the lifestyle and types of food consumed by the dutch population. Statistically speaking, every year between 100,000 to 300,000 life years are reduced from the dutch population because of obesity. This has of course important ramifications for society.

This however was only introduction stuff.

Today Van Kooten was talking about the need to strategically engage the entire value chain to capitalize on the value-added features desired by the final consumer. This value-chain-wide engagement focuses primarily on strategic cooperation because often if one agent in the chain “cheats” the entire chain is destroyed. What Van Kooten and his research group are working on is to determine very precisely the expected shelf-life of agricultural goods (like roses, or apples etc). They can do so using several statistical techniques surrounding data obtained through experimental product decay curves as the product passes through the supply chain. One critical piece of information is the dispersion of product quality attributes such as ripeness. This is a huge problem for super-markets.

Grocery stores don’t want waste. So, what they do is increase the ordering frequency, and display the produce on the store shelf often before it’s really ripe. Produce ripening follows a binomial distribution. Therefore, the grocer typically introduces the product into the store a few days prior to when “most” of the product is actually ripe. The problem with this is that many customers will buy and consume these often unripe (especially in things like Mango’s, melons etc where ripeness is more difficult to discern by the customer) and consume them. This results in a dissatisfied customer experience. Consequently long-term sales are relatively lower then would be possible if the product was sold at optimum ripeness.

Using technology, it is very easy to quickly and efficiently ascertain the ripeness of various products and incorporating that data into the the models developed by WUR to determine expected shelf-life remaining for the various batches of goods. An efficient supply chain would therefore sort these products and market the different ‘grades’ to different retailers depending on their idiosyncratic situation, for example distance or time to market (thus, distant markets would get less ripe tomatoes and near markets more ripe tomatoes). This will in the long run improve the consumer’s enjoyment of the food and overall consumption will increase, resulting in increased sales for the entire chain.

Two examples Prof. Van Kooten mentioned are Albert Hein (a large food retailer in the Netherlands) who did something similar to this with Mango’s and over a three year period dramatically improved mango sales (in addition to some marketing using a “daily fresh” marketing campaign; and the second example were grocery retailers in the UK. Visit this link for a good comparison between the UK and US markets. Essentially the UK market grew dramatically over the past 10 years, while the US market fell dramatically over the same time period. Why? < http://library.wur.nl/file/wurpubs/LUWPUBRD_00358034_A502_001.pdf > Answer: Quality. Over the past 10 years UK consumers have had very good experiences with fresh floral arrangements with the arrangements lasting more then a week, while in the US, fresh flowers are often over-priced and of very poor quality. (By way of illustration, Van Kooten said that in the US you bought ten roses for $10.00 which often died after three or four days, and alot of people were shocked at the exorbitant price…I smiled.) Check out the link. It’s very interesting.

Thus, quality according to Olaf Van Kooten will win over price in the long-run. I am puzzling through the differences in consumer demographics in North America and Western Europe. It may be interesting.

So, that’s what I learned about today! It is fascinating.

Wageningen is great!

WUR Stats

Yesterday I found a few interesting statistics from WUR. By the way, WUR is an acronym for Wageningen University & Research, I think.

There are 5,398 students in total. approximately 50% are at the bachelor level, 30% master and 20% PhD. Furthermore there are about 100 nationalities represented in the student population (25% of the total student base). I was startled by the small student base, and am interested in how they can finance such a university with all the research and capital expansion underway.

By way of contrast, the University of Guelph has approximately 10,000 students and UBC has 45,000 students at the Vancouver campus, with only about 20% on the graduate level.

Maybe I’ll update this post later. Right now it’s bedtime.

Goodnight!

JK