A recording of the event is now available on our YouTube channel.
Ultra-processed foods are hot! Scarcely does a day go by without the emergence of some report that labels these foods as dietary villains that undermine our health. While some allegations amount to overzealous fearmongering, the legitimate scientific literature presents a number of concerning studies that link ultra-processed foods to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even raise the possibility of an association with depression and certain cancers. There is also the contention that these foods are formulated with a variety of additives and use texturizing technologies to make them so palatable that they become “addictive.” But what exactly are ultra-processed foods? Do they all have the same effect on our biology? How do they differ from “junk food?” Is the processing itself the problem, or are the detrimental effects due to these foods having a high calorie, sugar, and salt content? Is it true that ultra-processed foods induce such intense and uncontrollable cravings that they can be said to be addictive? Clearly, an evidence-based discussion is needed to help us navigate through this nutritional quagmire.
DATE: Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Roundtable
The roundtable session is open to the public. Registration is mandatory. (*please note: should you register for the roundtable session, your confirmation email will only show the 7 pm symposium time and not the 1:30 pm roundtable).
TIME: 1:30 PM ET
LOCATION: McGill Faculty Club (3450 Rue McTavish), Ballroom
Moderator: Joe Schwarcz Ph.D. CM, Director at the McGill Office for Science and Society
Participants:
- Laurette Dubé Ph.D, Emerita Professor and Distinguished James McGill Chair of Consumer and Lifestyle Psychology and Marketing at the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University
- Yoni Freedhoff MD, Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa
- Ashley Gearhardt Ph.D, Professor of Psychology and Chair of Clinical Science at the University of Michigan
- Kevin Hall Ph.D, nutrition and metabolism scientist
- Daiva Nielsen Ph.D, Canada Research Chair in Ingestive Behaviour and Associate Professor, School of Human Nutrition at McGill University
- The Right Honourable Julie Payette C.C., C.M.M., C.D., former Governor General of Canada, astronaut, and President of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE)
Symposium
The symposium will not be live-streamed. It will be recorded and made available for viewing on our website afterward.
Registration is mandatory.
TIME: 7 PM ET
LOCATION: McGill University, Leacock Building - Room 132 (attached to the McGill Arts Building) - 855 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7
Leacock can be accessed from:
1. Sherbrooke Street - walk through the Roddick Gates towards the Arts Bldg, which is directly in front of you. The Leacock Bldg is attached to Arts, on the left side.
2. McTavish Street - walk through the gate on McTavish
3. Milton Gates - walk through the gate on University and Milton
You will be asked to show confirmation of your registration with the QR code at the roundtable and the evening symposium.
Should you not have access to a mobile device, please print out the confirmation in advance.
Questions? emily.shore [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Trottier%20Symposium) (Contact us)!
Our Speakers & Their Talks
Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Clinical Science area at the University of Michigan | "Can Ultra-Processed Foods Be Addictive? A Review of the Science"
This talk examines how the ultra-processed food industry has adopted key strategies pioneered by the tobacco industry to design, market, and distribute highly reinforcing products. It explores the controversial question of whether ultra-processed foods can be addictive by drawing on the benchmarks historically used to identify addictive substances, and considers how these frameworks apply in the current food environment. The talk concludes with practical strategies for maintaining agency in a landscape saturated with engineered, highly compelling foods.
Dr. Ashley Gearhardt is a Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Clinical Science area at the University of Michigan. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Yale University with training on the underpinnings of both excess food and alcohol consumption. Dr. Gearhardt currently investigates the contribution of reward dysfunction (e.g., craving, liking) to eating-related problems across the lifespan. She created the Yale Food Addiction Scale, which has been cited over 1000 times and has been translated into over a dozen languages. Identified as one of the world’s top 2% of scientists in the field of psychology, her research has been featured on media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, PBS, the Today Show, and Time Magazine. She has testified at both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and to the California State Assembly on the scientific evidence demonstrating parallels between ultra-processed foods and addictive substances.
Dr. Kevin Hall, Nutrition and Metabolism Scientist | "Ultra-Processed Foods and Body Weight"
Obesity rates have tripled over the past 50 years, and this rise coincides with an environment increasingly dominated by ultra-processed foods. But how does the food environment alter the physiology of body weight regulation and why do some interventions work for treating obesity while others fail? In particular, why do new GLP-1 drugs succeed whereas decades of fad diets have not? This presentation will quantify how the body regulates its weight, why that physiology becomes altered in a modern food environment, and how GLP-1 therapies shift the underlying physiology. I'll provide answers to these questions from a quantitative lens focused on one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time — and the drugs now reshaping how we treat it.
Dr. Kevin Hall has made groundbreaking discoveries about how our environment shapes dietary behaviors, and how nutrition and physical activity affect human metabolism and body weight regulation. His transdisciplinary research has combined tightly controlled metabolic ward trials, advanced neuroimaging, and mathematical modeling to generate mechanistic insights into the drivers of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.
Having delivered more than 250 presentations around the globe, Dr. Hall has received numerous scientific awards, and his work is regularly featured in major media outlets. He consults for organizations and companies around the world providing his expertise in human nutrition, metabolism, and obesity science.
About Our Supporter
The Trottier Foundation is a proud supporter of the McGill Office for Science and Society’s Public Science Symposium and believes it is a vital vehicle to promoting scientific communication and presenting scientific information to a broader audience. Established in 2000 by Lorne Trottier and Louise Rousselle Trottier, The Trottier Family Foundation is a Montreal-based private Canadian charitable foundation whose mission is to provide support to organizations that work towards the advancement of scientific inquiry, the promotion of education, fostering better health, protecting the environment and mitigating climate change. The Foundation believes that science, the environment, health, and education are crucial pillars in building a better world.
