"Ideological activism" driving revamp of the Canada Food Guide, says Conservative shadow minister

by

Health Canada is in the process of revamping the Canada Food Guide, with an emphasis on encouraging Canadians to eat more vegetables and plant-based protein, potentially at the expense of dairy and meat consumption.

The government has come under criticism for not seeking input from the agriculture and agri-food sector, as no witnesses from the agriculture sector spoke during the House health committee study of the Food Guide changes.

The Conservatives have also asked the agriculture committee to study the proposed changes, and to specifically hear from farmers and people involved in producing food.

John Barlow, Conservative MP and shadow minister for agriculture, says after speaking with doctors and dietitians, he’s concerned by the direction that Health Canada is headed.

“They’re going to be giving bad advice on data based on bad science. There’s an ideological activism in Health Canada that is driving these decisions,” says Barlow.

The changes are based on “environmental activism that raising livestock and processing livestock is bad for the environment,” he says, in the interview below, joining RealAg Radio on Wednesday.

Barlow also expressed concern in the House of Commons this week about “warning labels” showing up on wholesome foods under the new Food Guide regime. For example, yogurt, cheese, or chicken could have labels cautioning consumers about salt or fat content, while diet Coke won’t have a label, he says.

“This will be a huge impact on these commodities, because people will see a warning label, whether it’s a yield sign or a stop sign, on that yogurt that they would normally have bought for their kid’s school lunch. They’ll likely make another choice that could very likely be more unhealthy, but because it doesn’t fit the ideological activism that Health Canada is currently chasing, those other products won’t be impacted,” says Barlow.

He says we could see more information on these labels as soon as later this week.

Listen to Barlow share his concerns about the Food Guide changes below:

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Subscribe to our daily newsletters to keep you up-to-date with our latest coverage every morning.

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Please register to read and comment.

 

Register for a RealAgriculture account to manage your Shortcut menu instead of the default.

Register