David Waltner-Toews to read from The Origin of Feces
Canadian Mennonite University is pleased to host a reading by acclaimed author Dr. David Waltner-Toews.
Waltner-Toews will read from his most recent book, The Origin of Feces: What Excrement Tells Us About Evolution, Ecology, and a Sustainable Society at 4:00 PM on Saturday, May 30 in Marpeck Commons (2299 Grant Ave.). All are welcome to attend. Admission is free. <event poster>
An entertaining and enlightening exploration of why waste matters, The Origin of Feces is a cultural history that explores an often ignored subject matter and makes a compelling argument for a deeper understanding of human and animal waste.
Approaching the subject from a variety of perspectives—evolutionary, ecological, and cultural—the book shows how integral excrement is to biodiversity, agriculture, public health, food production and distribution, and global ecosystems.
Upon its release in 2013, The Origin of Feces won the silver medal at the Independent Publishers Book Awards and was shortlisted in the Canadian Science Writers Association’s Best Adult Science Book category.
John Brubacher, Assistant Professor of Biology at CMU, is looking forward to Waltner-Toews’ visit.
“David is always entertaining and thought-provoking in equal measure,” Brubacher says, adding that Waltner-Toews’ work fits in with a variety of different program areas at CMU. “He combines the humanities, sciences, and social sciences in a really delightful way.”
Based in Kitchener, ON, Waltner-Toews is a veterinarian, epidemiologist, scientist, and popular author.
He is the author or coauthor of 17 books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and recipes, including The Chickens Fight Back: Pandemic Panics and Deadly Diseases That Jump from Animals to People (Greystone Books, 2007) and Food, Sex and Salmonella: Why Our Food Is Making Us Sick (Greystone Books, 2008).
A University Professor Emeritus at University of Guelph, Waltner-Toews was founding president of Veterinarians Without Borders and of the Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health, and a founding member of Communities of Practice for Ecosystem Approaches to Health in Canada.
He is the recipient of the inaugural award for contributions to ecosystem approaches to health from The International Association for Ecology and Health.
About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. CMU has over about 900 full-time equivalent students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses and in its Outtatown certificate program.
For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.
For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2