Bad Shrimp, Fungus Frustrated Easter Bunny, One Million Canadians on GLP-1s and Guest Chef Charlotte Langley

The Food Professor

In the latest episode of The Food Professor podcast, presented by Caddle, Michael LeBlanc and Sylvain Charlebois dive into a range of pressing issues within the food industry, alongside their esteemed guest, Chef Charlotte Langley, co-founder of Scout and the visionary behind Langley Foods. This episode not only celebrates the innovation and sustainability in seafood canning but also explores the transformative journey of emerging Canadian brands through Langley's latest venture.

A significant portion of the podcast is dedicated to discussing groundbreaking Canadian research on GLP-1 weight loss drugs, presented by Caddle. This revelation is set against the backdrop of various industry challenges and evolutions, including the dramatic incident in Baltimore where a shipping liner collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, raising concerns over the immediate impact on North America's food supply chain.

As Easter approaches, the unprecedented surge in cocoa prices to over $10,000/mt US prompts a debate on whether this is a fleeting occurrence or a potential trend, and how it might affect consumers already anticipating their chocolate treats.

The episode takes a sobering turn with investigative reports shedding light on the dire working conditions in the sugar and shrimp industries in India, revealing systemic issues of exploitation and the urgent need for corporate accountability.

Moreover, the discussion on the significant reduction in Canadian grocery spending since early 2020 opens up questions on consumer behaviour shifts due to COVID-19, inflation, and the balance between grocery and foodservice spending.

Lastly, the podcast touches on the controversial topic of Bitcoin's role in the food industry, signaling a deep dive into digital currencies and their implications. The episode wraps up with a nod to poutine, celebrating its 60th year as a cherished dish, showcasing the podcast's blend of serious industry insights with cultural highlights.

Caddle's GLP-1 Research

https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/glp1-survey.html

The Globe & Mail Article on Shrimp Production in India

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-outlaw-ocean-india-seafood-plants/

New York Times expose on Sugar Production in India for Pepsi & Coke

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/24/world/asia/india-sugar-cane-fields-child-labor-hysterectomies.html?searchResultPosition=2

The Food Professor #podcast is presented by Caddle.

About Us

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.

He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.

Dr. Charlebois sits on a few company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre’s Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.