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S01 E08 : Science and GMOs

2025-04-1635:58


In this episode, we discuss Science as it relates to agriculture and specifically, how government utilizes science to shape policy in the agri-food sector. Our experts also tackle Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), asking tough questions and sharing unique perspectives about the sometimes-misunderstood topic.

Your Guests

Sylvain Charlebois

Sylvain Charlebois, Professor, Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. Dr. Charlebois conducts research in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He has written four books and many peer-reviewed and scientific articles—over 500 during his career. His research has been featured in newspapers such as The Economist, New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Globe & Mail, National Post, and Toronto Star. He is considered a leading expert and the go-to expert for national media outlets covering stories related to the Agri-food industry, including fertilizer emission reduction and food transparency and security.





Stuart Smyth

Dr. Stuart Smyth is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan. Having grown up on a farm near Kennedy, Saskatchewan, Stuart has always been connected to agriculture, and has had a passion for it. Whether it was 4-H talking with his family and friends in the ag. industry, or his own research, he has always maintained a connection with his farming roots and a passion to learn more about it. Since 2014, he has held a Chair in the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture & Bioresources. In 2024, he renewed his Agri-Food Innovation and Sustainability Enhancement Chair, thanks to his sponsors. His research focuses on sustainability, agriculture, innovation and food. In addition to his Research and teaching, each week Dr. Smyth and his team publish a blog on these topics at: www.SAIFood.ca.

With well over 110 academic publications to his name, Dr. Smyth is recognized as a leading expert on barriers to innovation and regulatory efficiency. His research specializes in regulatory barriers to food security, especially those that restrict investments into new plant breeding technologies, such as genome editing and that delay, or prevent, the commercialization of genetically modified and genome-edited crops. Some of his recent publications include the publications The Future of Genome Editing Innovations in the EU authored with Dr. J. Wesseler in Trends in Biotechnology (2022), and The role of public-private partnerships in improving global food security in Global Food Security (2021) with Dr. P.W.B. Phillips and Dr. S.R. Webb. Since 2020, despite the pandemic, Dr. Smyth has been able to publish more than 30 peer-refereed journal articles, you find out more about his publications here.

The College of Agriculture and Bioresources Agriculture Students Association of the University of Saskatchewan awarded Dr. Smyth with their 2022 Professor of the Year Award. In addition, in 2021, he was the recipient of CropLife Canada's Grassroots Award and Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan's 2021 Champion Award.

In addition to his Chair, Dr. Smyth is the Vice-President of the International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR), which organizes an annual conference on the impacts of the bioeconomy and biotechnology. Dr. Smyth as of 2021 is a Board member of the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.





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