In this episode of The Food Professor Podcast , we welcome Karen Proud , the inaugural President and Adjudicator of the newly established Office of the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct (OGSCC) . With an extensive background in industry leadership, policy, and regulatory affairs—including past roles as President & CEO of Fertilizer Canada and COO at Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada—Karen brings deep expertise to this critical new role aimed at fostering fair business practices in the grocery industry. Karen shares insights into her priorities for the first 100 days, including setting up the office, educating industry stakeholders, and ensuring smooth implementation when the code officially takes effect in June. She also addresses industry skepticism about the voluntary nature of the code and how transparency, public reporting, and industry buy-in will drive accountability. Beyond the grocery code, Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois dive into pressing issues shaping the food retail landscape. They explore the evolving "buy Canadian" movement , questioning whether consumer support for domestic products is a trend or a fleeting response to geopolitical tensions. They also discuss the impact of tariffs , supply management in the dairy sector, and whether Canadians truly understand how grocery pricing and food policies work. The conversation extends to shrinkflation , the federal government's response to rising food costs, and how consumer perceptions influence buying behaviour. Are grocery chains and private-label brands benefiting from shifting consumer preferences? Is there a genuine commitment from major players to offer more Canadian-made products? In addition, raw milk and seed oils take center stage, with Sylvain weighing in on the debate over health benefits, government regulation, and consumer demand for alternative food choices. Meanwhile, the discussion around the GST holiday on food purchases highlights ongoing efforts to alleviate consumer financial pressure while maintaining a competitive retail environment. New York Times article on Raw Milk https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/magazine/raw-milk-danger-benefits.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wk4.xI2Q.wjjcYaYrbFpb&smid=url-share 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 Vo
