Episode Details

Welcome to the very first episode of The Food Professor!

In this episode Sylvain and I talk  about what at first I think to many Canadian seemed good news, but Sylvain thought was half-baked…a B+…$252 Million Dollars for Canadian Farmers…first of all, what is the issue with the odd numbers, but beyond that, isn’t that kind of money helpful?  Next, we discuss recent consumer research from Dalhousie University and Angus Reid on grocery shopping, going to restaurants and all things food during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis (see https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/covid-19-grocery-experience.html)

Pandemic Processing Plants - the Cargill plant was the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in North America - worse than sailing on a cruise ship - is there more to this story from a bigger picture perspective?

Then we talk about  smoking good cannabis, or its at least what we both though we were doing at first when we heard Sysco Foodservice was getting into the home grocery delivery business!

Last but not least, the joy and simple pleasure of home gardening - a mega trend with no downside!

If you liked this podcast you can subscribe on Apple iTunes , Spotify or your favourite podcast platform, please please please rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry, foodservice, restaurant industry.

Stay Safe everyone!!

About Us

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University.

Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. 

He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. 

Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries.

With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues.

 Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered b