Episode Details

This week on The Food Professor Podcast, Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Vincent Breton, President & CEO of duBreton, Canada's leading organic pork producer, for a fascinating live interview recorded at SIAL Canada in Montreal.

Vincent shares the remarkable story behind duBreton's evolution from a traditional pork producer into one of the world's fastest-growing organic pork companies. He explains why the company made the bold decision to abandon conventional production in favour of organic and animal welfare-certified farming, why younger consumers are increasingly seeking ethically produced food, and how long-term thinking has become a competitive advantage.

The conversation explores the realities of producing premium food in today's marketplace, including the economics of organic farming, the growing importance of transparency, and why Vincent believes consumers deserve clear labelling around gene editing and cloning technologies. He also discusses duBreton's expansion across North America and Europe, the opportunities presented by the U.S. market, the company's growing influence in Texas barbecue circles, and why social media, education and consumer trust are becoming essential tools for modern food brands.

Perhaps most compelling is Vincent's candid discussion of Quebec's collective marketing system and why he continues to advocate for greater producer choice, innovation and entrepreneurial freedom within Canadian agriculture. It's an insightful conversation about leadership, values, food policy and building a purpose-driven business in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

First, Michael and Sylvain kick off the episode with their weekly review of the biggest food and agriculture stories making headlines. They examine Canada's latest food inflation numbers as grocery prices continue to outpace overall inflation, discuss why salmon prices have surged dramatically heading into summer, analyze new trade measures affecting canned food imports, and explore ongoing Competition Bureau investigations into grocery property controls.

The hosts also dive into new research on costly regulatory delays affecting meat imports, rising regional ice cream prices, the challenges food manufacturers face replacing artificial colours, changes to the U.S. SNAP food assistance program, and the broader debate over balancing affordability, nutrition and agricultural policy. Along the way, they celebrate Canadian Grocer Golden Pencil Award winners and preview the season finale before a full summer of special interviews recorded at SIAL Canada.

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 pa