Nobody Here But Us Chickens, 2023 Predictions and Canada's largest farmland owner, Robert Andjelic

Welcome to The Food Professor podcast, Season 3, episode 9.

In this episode, we're looking ahead to the year 2023. We have an extraordinary guest joining us for this episode - Robert Andjelic, Founder & CEO of Andjelic Land, the largest farm owner in Canada, who has graciously agreed to join us for a rare interview.

https://andjelic.ca/

In this episode, we discuss predictions for 2023. We also delve into recent news about chicken prices and government subsidies for dairy farmers. Are there any fixable issues in the current system of supporting farmers? Along with these discussions, we will be hearing from our special guest and your host's top predictions for 2023, including "Reducetarianism" replacing "Flexitarianism," the future of the restaurant and foodservice business and the impact of the ongoing Ukraine war on global food infrastructure.

Big news we are once again working with the great people at the SIAL Food Innovation show, and will be the official podcast of the 2023 SIAL show this year here in Toronto from April 9 to 11th

https://sialcanada.com/en/

About Robert

Robert’s founding of Andjelic Land was driven by his undeniable passion for agriculture. From meeting with producers, assisting with land improvements, or promoting the industry, he is extremely hands-on with the business. He is an unwavering champion of Saskatchewan’s producers and strongly believes they are positioned to be global leaders in food production. Robert is a firm believer in local value-added businesses and is currently collaborating with private industry and different levels of government to attract value add players to the industry with a focus on Saskatchewan. These efforts have borne fruit as evidenced by several new companies opening protein extraction/ fractionation plants across the three Prairie provinces. Robert is keenly aware that the success of Andjelic Land is predicated on partnering with and supporting strong Saskatchewan producers.

Robert has spent his entire career in pursuit of excellence. As a teenager, he renovated homes in Winnipeg’s North End. He went on to cofound a masonry business that worked on countless projects throughout Manitoba starting with house fronts, then moving into commercial properties, and eventually into building schools, hydroelectric projects, cultural centers, public swimming pools, etc. During this time, Robert identified an opportunity to improve upon the industrial buildings that were then being built and started a company that quickly went on to become Winnipeg’s leading private industrial builder & developer. At one point, the whole Andjelic family was involved to achieve this goal. He sold the building portfolio in 2007 and over a decade later, this portfolio of properties continues to be some of the most desirable and sought-after assets in the city.

In 2011, Robert identified similar opportunities to improve upon the management, development, and efficiency of agricultural land. His unwavering belief in the potential of Saskatchewan’s producers and what they would be able to achieve with even more productive and efficient land resulted in the creation of Andjelic Land. You can find him driving all over the province talking to tenants and working with them to further enhance and improve the land they farm. A decade after starting his mission to provide farmers with Premium Sustainable Land™, Robert feels we have only begun to scratch the surface of Saskatchewan agriculture’s potential on its rise to global prominence. The work continues!

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.

About Michael

Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery.   

Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. ReThink Retail has added Michael to their prestigious Top Global Retail Influencers list for 2023 for the third year in a row. 

Michael is also the president of Maven Media, producing a network of leading trade podcasts, including Canada's top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail. He produces and co-hosts Remarkable Retail with best-selling author Steve Dennis, now ranked one of the top retail podcasts in the world. 

In 2020 Michael launched The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois exploring the critical issues in food, grocery and food service. The Food Professor podcast is one of Apple Podcasts' top 20 business management podcasts in Canada, and currently the number one Canadian produced and hosted podcast in the category.

Based in New York, Conversations with CommerceNext is a podcast focusing on retail eCommerce, digital marketing and retail careers with episodes talking with C-level executives operating in the U.S. and internationally. 

Based in San Francisco, Global eCommerce Leaders podcast explores global cross-border issues and opportunities for eCommerce brands and retailers. 

Last but not least, Michael is the producer and host of the "Last Request Barbeque" channel on YouTube, where he cooks meals to die for - and collaborates with top brands as a food and product influencer across North America.

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 parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries.

With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food