In April 2026 the United Nations revised its worst-case climate scenarios downward and declared the most catastrophic projections highly implausible. Almost no one in Canada covered it. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and host of Canada's number one rated food podcast, has spent 25 years doing the work the room needs: holding science, policy, and politics to the same standard. In this conversation, he takes on three issues agriculture keeps being told what to think about, climate policy, gene editing, and the Canadian fear of failure, and gives the room the version it hasn't been getting.

Topics and Timestamps

0:00 -- Dan's opening question: think of one issue in agriculture you've changed your mind on in the last five years

1:30 -- "Don't Follow the Flock" -- live intro and platform housekeeping

3:00 -- Dr. Sylvain Charlebois: The Food Professor Podcast, Dalhousie, Canada's number one food podcast with zero budget

4:00 -- Ireland, Brexit, and the economic lesson Canada keeps missing about CUSMA

10:00 -- Audience poll: when you hear a strong opinion from a non-farmer, what's your first instinct?

11:00 -- Why civic engagement in food systems makes farming stronger, not weaker

13:00 -- Demand chain management: build from the consumer back, not the farm gate forward

15:00 -- How Canadian media coverage became one-sided and why it keeps getting harder to correct

22:00 -- The GTF promotion ad that was rejected -- and what that reveals

23:00 -- Topics Sylvain is asked not to raise on Ottawa stages

25:00 -- The "mini-me" problem in academia: conform, or get canceled

33:00 -- MYTH 1: Climate change -- the UN revised its worst-case scenarios downward; almost no Canadian outlet covered it

40:00 -- Carbon pricing at $110 a tonne with emissions still rising: what the data actually shows

44:00 -- MYTH 2: Gene editing -- why transparency and consumer buy-in are the one thing the industry keeps skipping

46:00 -- MYTH 3: Going broke is bad -- what a Purdue lunch table of ag entrepreneurs revealed about Canadian risk culture

49:00 -- Monette's bankruptcy, Robert Andjelic, and why Canada should treat risk-takers as a national asset

51:00 -- Ryan Bonnett's question: Sylvain's three priorities for Canadian agriculture

52:00 -- Where Canada leads the G20 in agricultural science, and where it falls short

53:00 -- CUSMA, July 1st, and what the non-renewal actually signals for investment in Canadian ag

54:00 -- Close and upcoming: Strathcona renewable diesel with Quick Dick McDick and Sean Wildman; right-to-repair tractors with Cory Doctorow

Resources Mentioned

The Food Professor Podcast -- Dr. Sylvain Charlebois (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms)

Episode: Interview with US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra -- on The Food Professor Podcast

Agri-Food Analytics Lab -- Dalhousie University (dal.ca/agri-food-analytics-lab)

Postmedia op-eds -- Dr. Sylvain Charlebois writes every two to three days (available at major Postmedia outlets)

MNP / Dalhousie G20 agricultural science comparison study -- referenced in conversation, available through Agri-Food Analytics Lab

Connect with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

The Food Professor Podcast: thefoodprofessor.ca

Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab: dal.ca/agri-food-analytics-lab

X / Twitter: @FoodProfessor

Connect with Growing the Future

Website: growingthefuture.ca

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LinkedIn: Growing the Future

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