Le nutritionniste urbain

Bernard Lavallée is a nutritionist, author and science communicator. In his books, his columns and his social media posts, he explores our relationship with food and what it says about our societies, our cultures and our history. He is particularly interested in Quebec's food heritage.

Under the pseudonym Le nutritionniste urbain, he first became known for his critical analyses of popular myths and claims about nutrition. Over his career, his view has widened. For him, taking an interest in food is a way to better understand societies and the people who make them up. Nutrition is still part of his approach, but it is not enough to answer all his questions. He also draws on sociology, history, anthropology and ecology to shed light on our relationship with food.

His interest in food biodiversity and the history of foods led him into the archives, on the trail of heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables grown in our gardens. This research feeds his books as well as the projects of his shop, which is devoted to heirloom seeds and Quebec's food heritage. He has worked in particular on the history of the Montreal melon and of Quebec tomatoes.

He shares his discoveries and reflections in the media, on social media and in talks. He has also created an online training platform for health professionals, to broaden the way we understand food and talk about it with the people we support. In all these projects, he tries to show that food is much more than a list of nutrients and rules to follow.