Innovating our way to food sovereignty, one berry at a time

Margaret A. Gilliam Lecture in Food Security presents:

Innovating our way to food sovereignty, one berry at a time

Presented by Dr. Jeffrey Coull, Head of Strategic Initiatives and Projects at Weston Family Foundation

Dr. Coull will discuss the Weston Family Foundation’s signature initiative around food security: the Homegrown Innovation Challenge. The $33M program was launched in February 2022 and challenges innovators to create and deliver a market-ready system to reliably, sustainably and competitively produce berries out of season and at scale in Canada. As Dr. Coull will discuss, the HGC is about much more than just berries: indeed, it is designed to alleviate important gaps in Canada’s food sovereignty and, at the same time, help Canadian innovators to realize the promise – and lead the world in the development – of advanced agricultural practices and technologies, as this promise was articulated by the federal government in its 2017 Barton Report. Dr. Coull will also provide an overview of the initiative and discuss how McGill-affiliated researchers and innovators can get involved!

Dr. Jeffrey Coull is a scientist and entrepreneur. At present, he serves as the Head of Strategic Initiatives and Projects at the Weston Family Foundation, one of Canada’s largest private foundations. In this role, Dr. Coull is responsible for a number of strategic undertakings, including the $33M Homegrown Innovation Challenge, which he was instrumental in designing and implementing. Prior to joining the WFF, Dr. Coull served as an executive at several life sciences companies. He holds a PhD from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University, as well as a BSc from Queen’s University, and spent several years as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto.