Sylvain Charlebois

Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is a former dean of the university's Faculty of Management. Charlebois, who goes by the moniker "The Food Professor," is the director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie. Since December 2010, he has been the lead author of Canada's Food Price Report.

Early life and education Charlebois was raised on a rural farm in Quebec. He has a degree in commerce from the Royal Military College of Canada. He obtained a Master of Business Administration from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a Doctor of Business Administration at the University of Sherbrooke, writing his thesis on mad cow disease's impact on the Canadian beef industry and food distribution. In the 2000s, his research focused on food systems and he began making media appearances as a food expert. At his college, he served as associate dean of research and graduate studies, executive programs, and academics, as well as a stint as acting dean.

In 2016, he was named dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University. In 2018, Charlebois became the director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie, after resigning as dean following an investigation into complaints involving harassment and bullying. Following Charlebois's resignation, a university spokesperson stated that the conclusions of the investigation would remain confidential but that "no further action" would be taken in relation to the investigation.

Charlebois writes a blog for Canadian Grocer magazine called "The Food Professor," and is a co-host of the podcast titled "The Food Professor."

Charlebois and his wife Janèle Vézeau are also co-directors of the Canadian Agri-Food Foresight Institute, a private consulting company in the agri-food industry. An August 2024 paper in Canadian Food Studies found that the Report were "scientifically incomplete" since it did not adequately account for climate change and the impact of corporate decisions on price. The piece, and a Twitter post, was met with criticism, and debate about the morality of food theft. Twitter users drew attention to Charlebois' salary from Dalhousie University, and his receipt of a $60,000 grant in 2018 from the Weston Foundation, which is funded by Weston Family companies that include Loblaws, one of Canada's largest grocery retailers. In response, Charlebois said the grant went to Dalhousie University and was used to pay a graduate student; and that people are upset with grocers since, with food inflation over 10 percent, "they're looking for a scapegoat." Canadians for Tax Fairness said Charlebois's analysis insufficiently acknowledged the rebate that Canadians received for the carbon tax.

Charlebois has said the federal government's plastic pollution reduction campaign and a fertilizer emissions reduction plan would be likely to raise costs and lead to more international food scarcity.

Milk dumping A study co-authored by Charlebois found that between 2012 and 2021, the Canadian dairy industry discarded on farms an estimated 7% of all milk produced (over 6.8 billion liters of raw milk, valued at $6.7 billion).

Other reports Charlebois has also co-authored reports related to the Canadian Wheat Board’s Daily Price Contract program, Canada's Food Guide, edible cannabis legislation, and public perception towards GMOs.

Publications