Articles

A lot of material comes across our desks at CFIN, and we love to share new information with YODLers!  

This year we checked in with CFIN staff to find out what they were reading, listening to, watching, and posting about. Here’s a summary of some of the best of those suggestions. 

What are you reading? 

Adrianne Assenheim, Communications Specialist - Lately I have been devouring Lenore Newman’s Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food. Her books are as delicious as a beach read, and as filling as the OG Noma tasting menu! I also spend a lot of time leafing through my cookbooks (which I never follow but am very inspired by) to soak up tips on zero-waste cooking, foraged/local/seasonal produce and preserving. Most recently I have been gravitating to Love and Lemons Everyday in preparation from what I hope will be a big heirloom veggie haul from our garden this year. 

Jairo Melo, Director of Digital Technology - Lean Analytics by Alister Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz, and Quantum Supremacy by Michio Kaku. 

Rajiv Ramalingam, IT Lead Support - I read technology related articles, especially from a tech website name called How to Geek – where experts will explain us technology. I started to follow them since 2008, until today I am getting their daily email notification about new technologies and problem-solving techniques. I highly recommend to anyone to visit their page who needs tech support or to learn about the latest technologies in the market. 

Curtis Wong, Vice President of Partnerships and Development - I recently finished Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. In my second week at CFIN, in Guelph, ON I was recommended Dinner on Mars and Reality Check: Straight Talk About Sponsorship Marketing – I have not started either. I am now on Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away 

What are you listening to? 

Alex Barlow, Vice President of Programs - Recently I’m obsessed with a band called Lake Street Dive that a friend introduced me to. Podcast wise, I really like The Big Story which is a daily 20- to 30-minute episode on Canadian topics – recent ones around grocery prices, single-use plastics, or how our cup of coffee helps us understand global inflation are some favourites. My listening habits, unlike my reading habits, are all about short and sweet! 

Nestor Gomez., Chief Technology Officer - I listen to podcasts. Lots of them. And I also follow their equivalent YouTube channels. Among my favourites are Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell that focuses on overlooked and misunderstood yet significant events in history; Sean Carroll’s Mindscape, a 360 view of philosophy and science with a lot of cosmology and particle physics; StarTalk Radio, with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice, a fun take on very serious astrophysics and science; The Ezra Klein Show; Freakonomics Radio; The Hidden Brain; and the list goes on and on… 

Lavina Gully, Reginal Innovation Director for BC and Yukon - My favourite podcast is Econtalk by Russ Roberts. He’s been at it for over 10 years and has branched out to cover a wide range of topics including health, business and psychology.  

Tyson MacInnis, Regional Innovation Director for Atlantic Canada - I listen to Freakonomics on a regular basis as I like that it covers a range of interesting subjects that you otherwise wouldn’t think of. Also, most recently I occasionally listen to How I Built This, Next in Travel & Dining, and Mid-Day Squares. 

Who are you following? 

Hubba Khatoon, Regional Innovation Director for the Prairies - I’m currently keeping tabs on all the winners of the CFIN funding programs. It’s so great to see all these innovators pushing the boundaries of food technology. I’ll definitely be following along closely to see them in action! Check them out here. 

Dana McCauley, CEO - I tend to follow sources that I can trust to have good quality information. For those interested in the food business in Canada, I follow Food in Canada, CIFST, Foodservice & Hospitality and Canadian Grocer. For an international lens, I watch what Matthieu Vincent, Elaine Watson, Danielle Nierenberg have to say.  

Jaleh Sasani, Program Specialist - I follow a variety of great newsletters including Food Dive, Grocery Dive, MaRS News, and the Arrell Food Institute. Lately, I’ve been interested in learning more about honey bee health and enjoy updates from the University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre. 

What are you watching? 

Ella Baker, Administrative Specialist - I am watching a lot of videos on YODL so I can get caught up with what’s happening in this industry. A few of them include AI and the Food Industry – An interview with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (AMII), The Future of Cellular Food Regulations in Canada, and Parlons d'innovation: Nouvelles initiatives d’étiquetage sur l’impact environnemental des aliments. 

Jamil Karim, Director of Communications -  This Ted Talk from 2021 featuring New Harvest’s Isha Dotar has been making the rounds on our CFIN Teams channel. It’s 12 minutes and you’ll leave with an above average understanding of what cellular agriculture is and why it’s got the potential to be a vital piece to solving food security.   

What are you posting about? 

Linda Fox, Regional Innovation Director for Ontario - I make a lot of use of LinkedIn to talk about the projects our members at CFIN have underway, and the programs we have in that realm. I remain amazed each day at the breadth of solutions our Canadian innovators are coming up with. 

#Foodtech

#Funding

#cellularfood

#AI

#foodnewsletters

CFIN Members get exclusive access to funding opportunities, five Regional Innovation Directors, and YODL. Learn more about what it’s like to be a CFIN Member and how you can join our growing community of food professionals.