The 2019 Edition of Canada’s Food Guide: A Vegan Perspective

Hello everyone! I recently wrote a blog post that was published on the Vegan Society blog. The post is titled "The 2019 Edition of Canada's Food Guide: A Vegan Perspective". I hope you find it interesting!

Moving Towards a Vegan Option in Canada

Hello everyone!

I wanted to give you all a quick update. You may remember my two previous blog posts, letting you know about a petition calling on the Canadian government “to require public canteens under federal jurisdiction to provide a vegan option, and to raise this issue and work with provincial and territorial counterparts to require the same at all levels of government.” In practice, this means that a vegan option would be required to be served in all public schools, hospitals, prisons, and other public institutions. This is an important step that our country can take towards animal rights and vegan rights. A similar law is already in place in Portugal.

I didn’t start the petition, but I signed it and mentioned it on my blogs because this issue matters a lot to me.

In total, the petition received 3106 signatures from the public, and it was presented to the House of Commons on February 7, 2018. The government’s response was disappointing—basically, they implied that they don’t plan on taking action on this issue.

Fortunately, however, the dedicated vegan advocates who are working on this issue are not giving up! A new organization, Vegan Option Canada, has been founded to advocate for this new law. Vegan Option Canada is currently running two versions of their petition: an official paper petition and an unofficial, supplementary online petition. You can sign both, as the signatures for each petition are counted separately. You can access the online petition directly by clicking here. Check out Vegan Option Canada’s website to learn more about this issue and to find a paper petition near you. Alternatively, you can order sheets of the paper petition so that you can collect signatures yourself!

I feel quite confident that this initiative can succeed. Let’s work together and make it happen!



Photo Courtesy of Suzette.nu.

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins by Carolyn Harris.



Update on Petition Calling on Canadian Government to Provide Vegan Options at Public Canteens

Recently I received an e-mail from the House of Commons Electronic Petitions website notifying me that on February 7^th, 2018, petition e-1205 was presented in the House of Commons. The e-mail goes on to say, “You will be notified once a government response has been tabled.”

This is a petition that I mentioned on my blog previously—it was calling on the federal government “to require public canteens under federal jurisdiction to provide a vegan option, and to raise this issue and work with provincial and territorial counterparts to require the same at all levels of government.” You can see the full text of the petition here, although it is no longer open to signatures.

On the House of Commons website, it is mentioned that this topic was brought up as well, but it doesn't say if or how anyone responded to it. You can see what I am talking about here.

I am looking forward to seeing how the government responds. I will post on this blog again to let you know how they responded once I receive further information on the subject!

Next Steps for the Revision of Canada's Food Guide

Happy New Year, everyone!

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while probably have heard that Health Canada is currently in the process of revising Canada’s Food Guide, the government-created resource that provides dietary recommendations to Canadians.

Now that it’s 2018, I thought I would give a re-cap of what has happened so far in that process and let you know what Health Canada is planning for the process in the coming couple of years or so.

From October 24, 2016 to December 8, 2016, Health Canada held Phase 1 of the online public consultation in which Canadians could share their views and experiences about Canada’s Food Guide. During that time period, I wrote a blog post entitled “Fixing the Problems on Canada’s Food Guide”, in which I discussed why and how Canada’s Food Guide needs to change. I also included my response to a question on the survey that I completed for the first stage of the online consultation. Additionally, I had an Op-Ed published on the Epoch Times website called “Health Canada Should Recommend a Vegan Diet”.

From June 10, 2017 until July 25, 2017, the second phase of the online public consultation was held, in which Canadians could comment on some of the proposed dietary recommendations for the new Canada’s Food Guide. The proposed new Guiding Principles showed that Health Canada is planning on recommending that Canadians shift towards eating more plant-based foods. I wrote an in-depth blog post on the subject here.

The Government of Canada has also held some focus groups amongst Canadians to learn more about how they use the dietary recommendations. In one series of focus groups, participants were presented with a series of proposed “foundational statements” that may be used in Health Canada's dietary recommendations and were asked to give their feedback. The statements were as follows:

“Make it a habit to enjoy a variety of nutritious foods and beverages each day. Many foods fit healthy eating, choose those that you enjoy and that reflect your culture and traditions.

§ Choose mostly plant-based foods.

§ Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit, whole grains and some protein foods, especially those foods that come from plants.

§ Include foods that have healthy fats.

§ Limit processed and prepared foods high in sodium, sugars, or saturated fat. If you choose these foods, eat them less often and in small amounts.

§ Cook with foods that are lower in sodium, sugars and saturated fats.

§ Make water your drink of choice.

– Replace sugary drinks with water. (Option 1)

– Choose water instead of sugary drinks. (Option 2)

– Avoid sugary drinks. (Option 3)

§ Plain milk, unsweetened fortified plant-based or soy beverages can also be healthy beverage choices.

Healthy eating is more than the foods you eat. It is also about how, where, when and why you eat.

§ Be mindful of your eating habits

– Enjoy your food.

– Take time to eat.

– Notice when you are hungry and when you are full.

§ Plan. Cook. Eat together.

– Plan what you eat.

– Cook more often.

– Eat with family and friends often.

– Share your foods skills, food traditions and culture.”

It is encouraging to see that “plant-based foods” are mentioned in the first statement on this list, as well as “foods that come from plants” making an appearance in the second statement! Also notable is the de-emphasis of milk (as compared to previous Canada’s Food Guides) and the inclusion of dairy-free beverages. However, these things are not particularly surprising, as the previously-released proposed Guiding Principles already showed us that Health Canada is most likely going to recommend a shift towards more plant-based eating, anyway. Of course, I would like them to recommend that Canadians eat a purely plant-based, whole-foods vegan diet. That being said, these statements show a clear improvement over Canada's previous dietary recommendations, and that is something to be happy about. There is still definite room for improvement, however.

According to the Government of Canada’s website, in 2018, they will release “Part 1 of the new dietary guidance policy report for health professionals and policy makers, which will consist of general healthy eating recommendations”, and “supporting key messages and resources for Canadians”. In 2019, they will release “Part 2 of the new dietary guidance policy report, which will consist of healthy eating patterns (recommended amounts and types of foods)”, and “additional resources for Canadians”. It remains to be seen what exactly these resources will be like, but I’ll be sure to report on them for this blog once they come out!

Petition to the Government of Canada Regarding Food Policy

Recently I found out about a new petition that was posted on the Parliament of Canada’s E-petitions website. The petition, which is being sponsored by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, is calling for all public canteens under federal jurisdiction to serve a vegan option (and for the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to implement this law at their levels, as well).

The main part of the petition reads, “We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to require public canteens under federal jurisdiction to provide a vegan option, and to raise this issue and work with provincial and territorial counterparts to require the same at all levels of government.”

Judging by the way that the petition is worded, it sounds like, if the petition becomes law, this could lead to hospitals, schools, universities, colleges, prisons, and other public institutions to be required to serve a vegan option. This would be a win for vegans, for, as a matter of human rights, it is essential that vegans have access to vegan food. Furthermore, the law would help animals, as it would make it easier for more people to eat a vegan diet, and it could help to indirectly raise awareness about veganism and to help people realize what vegan food actually is.

In March 2017, Portugal passed a law requiring all public canteens (at hospitals, schools, prisons, etc.) to serve a vegan option. Canada needs a law like this, too!

Canadian citizens are able to sign the petition and read more about it here. The petition is open until November 29, 2017, at 2:32 p.m. EDT.



Photo copyright Carolyn H.



Our Voices Are Being Heard!

Hello everyone,

Many of you may recall that last year, Health Canada was holding Phase 1 of its public consultation on revising Canada's Food Guide. Canadians were invited to submit their opinions and experiences with the Food Guide using an online form on www.foodguideconsultation.ca. (You can read the blog post that I wrote last year on the subject here.) In total, 19,873 submissions were received (although participants were able to make submissions more than once). Of those, 14,297 were from the general public, 5,096 were from professionals, and 461 were from organizations. Now, several documents have been released, including one reviewing the input that has been heard from the Canadian public; an “Evidence review for dietary guidance”; and a proposed description of “Guiding Principles, Recommendations, and Considerations” for healthy eating.

These documents are very encouraging for those of us who are working to spread the vegan message! I am saving the best news for later on in this blog post (under the subheading “Guiding Principles”), but I recommend that you read the whole post to get a more complete picture of how the proposed dietary recommendations relate to plant-based eating.

Public Input from Phase 1 of the Consultation

First, let’s look at the document, “Canada’s Food Guide Consultation – Phase 1 What We Heard Report”.

Happily, veganism, vegetarianism, and plant-based diets are mentioned in the document a few times!

The document can be found in full on the Government of Canada website. Below, I have included 7 excerpts from the document that mention veganism, vegetarianism, and related issues.

1) When asked how useful the current Four Food Groups were, participants expressed the following: “Current food groupings (such as Vegetables and Fruit, Grain Products, Milk and Alternatives, and Meat and Alternatives) were considered useful, to at least "some extent", due to their simplicity, however less useful to some because of their departure from the nutritional components, lack of applicability to all circumstances and needs such as for a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle or dietary restrictions.” (found in Section 4.0)

2) “Other personal interests in healthy eating recommendations that were mentioned by participants include:

• improving the health of all Canadians in general;
• having a focus on dietary choices such as vegetarianism and veganism;
• managing food intolerances/allergies;
• disease management/managing health conditions, such as diabetes;
• concerns about the environment or animal welfare;
• support for educational study; or
• to aid their own involvement in a social or community group related to personal wellbeing, such as:
• a healthy lifestyle
• fitness
• weight loss” (found in Section 5.1)

3) “Participants were very positive about the prospect of revisions to Canada's Food Guide. For some, the current format offers a simple way to structure thinking about healthy eating and encourages Canadians to think about healthy eating principles. Others felt that the current recommendations are misleading and that revisions would be helpful to ensure the recommendations are useful to a broader audience.” (found in Section 5.2)

4) “Generally, participants from the public, professionals and organizations felt that dietary guidance should cover a broad range of needs. Feedback received from contributors on potential content of the guidance included:

·         more focus on audience specific recommendations, particularly for those with lower incomes, elderly Canadians and children;

·         inclusion of guidance addressing a range of lifestyle choices/dietary restrictions; and,

·         more details related to the nutrient requirements for positive health outcomes, such as a focus on macronutrients and micronutrients essential for health.

A few participants also commented on a need for broader changes to the food industry beyond guidance materials to more specific policy changes to improve the health of Canadians by limiting options that negatively affect human health.” (found in Section 5.2)

5) “Many general public participants indicated that the current food groupings were useful to them, to at least "some extent". They often cited the simplicity of the groupings as a good foundation for building awareness of healthy eating habits. Others felt the groupings were not useful due to their:

• departure from the nutritional components (micro and macro nutrients) in foods essential for positive health outcomes; and
• lack of ability to apply the groupings to all circumstances and needs, such as for:
• vegan or vegetarian lifestyles
• other dietary restrictions” (found in Section 5.4)

6) “A greater emphasis on (or de-emphasis of) certain foods was recommended by participating professionals as a way to improve the usefulness of the food groupings. For example, some contributors suggested this could include:

·         a greater emphasis on vegetables, rather than fruits; or

·         a de-emphasis of meat or milk” (found in Section 5.4)

7) “While there are mixed perspectives, both positive and negative, on the value of Canada's Food Guide in its current format (including the content and recommendations specifically), many general public and professional/organizational participants agree that Canada's Food Guide may no longer be reflective of the increasingly varied diets of Canadians today.

There are different, more varied food types on the tables of Canadians than ever before, due to the rise of trends, such as:

·         community gardening;

·         gluten-free products;

·         an emphasis on whole foods and plant-based diets; and

·         the greater variety of traditional cuisines of Canada's multicultural population.

There is a call for healthy eating recommendations to be expanded to:

·         reflect this greater variety;

·         provide a basis of scientific evidence;

·         provide more details to Canadians about the foods they are consuming; and

·         create guidance to inform healthy eating behaviours.” (Section 6.0)

It seems that the government is starting to hear the logic of our movement. That’s not all the good news, however. There’s more!

"Evidence Review for Dietary Guidance"

The document “Evidence review for dietary guidance” does not mention plant-based eating, vegetarian diets, or vegan diets. However, they did make some comments about how some people are concerned about industry influence on Canada's Food Guide:

“Another reported challenge was that there remains a perception among some groups of consumers and organizations that food industry representatives exerted influence on the development of the recommendations in the Food Guide. This adversely affects the credibility of the guidance from a scientific standpoint in the eyes of these stakeholders.” (Page 5 of the PDF)

I wouldn’t be surprised if concerns raised by vegans about the influence of the meat, dairy, and egg industries on the Food Guide are part of the reason why Health Canada makes this statement. I myself expressed this concern in my Op-Ed on the Epoch Times’ website last year.

Guiding Principles

Health Canada has also released a document outlining the proposed Guiding Principles, Recommendations, and Considerations for healthy eating.

Here is a summarized description of the principles:

(Source: Government of Canada)

A detailed description of the Guiding Principles is also available on the Government of Canada website. The word “plant-based” is used 6 times in the Guiding Principles document, and in 5 of those times it is used positively! Here are 4 excerpts from the document that mention plant-based food:

1) “Health Canada recommends:

·         Regular intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and protein-rich foods* – especially plant-based sources of protein

·         Inclusion of foods that contain mostly unsaturated fat, instead of foods that contain mostly of saturated fat

·         Regular intake of water

*Protein-rich foods include: legumes (such as beans), nuts and seeds, soy products (including fortified soy beverage), eggs, fish and other seafood, poultry, lean red meats (including game meats such as moose, deer and caribou), lower fat milk and yogurt, cheeses lower in sodium and fat. Nutritious foods that contain fat such as homogenized (3.25% M.F.) milk should not be restricted for young children.”

Note that plant-based sources of protein are mentioned first on the list of protein-rich food sources! It looks like the plant-based/vegan message is doing better than many of us may have thought!

2) “What is needed is a shift towards a high proportion of plant-based foods, without necessarily excluding animal foods altogether.”

While the second part of this sentence may initially seem a bit disappointing, they do seem to be making progress in the right direction. Also, consider the fact that Health Canada actually mentions the idea of excluding animal products altogether; the way they phrase the sentence (“without necessarily excluding” (italics added by me)) makes me think that they don’t think that excluding animal products is at all far-fetched.

3) “A shift towards more plant-based foods can help Canadians:

·         eat more fibre-rich foods;

·         eat less red meat (beef, pork, lamb and goat); and

·         replace foods that contain mostly saturated fat (e.g., cream, high fat cheeses and butter) with foods that contain mostly unsaturated fat (e.g., nuts, seeds, and avocado).

To help meet these recommendations, Canadians can choose nutritious foods and beverages, including:

·         foods and beverages that require little or no preparation such as fresh, frozen and canned vegetables and fruit, canned legumes or fish, tofu, plain milk or fortified plant-based beverages;

·         foods and beverages that are pre-packaged for convenience (such as pre-washed salad greens, pre-cut fruit) or to increase shelf-life (such as powdered milk);

·         foods like nuts, seeds, fatty fish, avocado, and vegetable oils instead of foods like high fat cheeses and cream; and

·         foods obtained through gardening, hunting, trapping, fishing and harvesting.”

Apart from the last bullet point and the recommendations of fish and milk, and, I am encouraged by with the progressive thinking in terms of plant-based eating that is demonstrated here.

4) “In general, diets higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods are associated with a lesser environmental impact, when compared to current diets high in sodium, sugars and saturated fat.”

Overall, I am quite impressed with the receptiveness to vegan and plant-based eating that the government has shown in this first phase of the consultation. However, there is still definite room for improvement.

Next Steps

Our job is not over yet!

Phase 2 of the public consultation is being held from June 10 untilJuly 25, 2017. In this new phase, Canadians are being asked to submit their input on the proposed Guiding Principles for healthy eating.

I have already submitted my input. Although I did suggest that plant-based eating be further emphasized (and that meat, dairy and other animal products be further de-emphasized), I chose to focus my comments on the positive aspects of the proposed new recommendations, as they appear to be a major improvement from the current Food Guide. I want to encourage the government to keep the progress they have made, at the very least. It is likely that many groups will be submitting their comments to the government on the proposed recommendations, so it is important for vegans to speak up and let the government know that we care about this issue.

You can submit your comments at www.foodguideconsultation.ca. Thank you for caring!

Links:

Canada’s Food Guide Consultation – Phase 1 What We Heard Report

Evidence Review for Dietary Guidance: Summary of Results and Implications for Canada's Food Guide

Summary of Guiding Principles and Recommendations

Guiding Principles

Canada’s Food Guide Should Recommend a Vegan Diet (my Op-Ed)

Fixing the Problems on Canada's Food Guide (my previous blog post)

Veganism in Politics-- Britain's new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism

Good news-- in the UK, an "All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism" has been formed. This group will be made up of politicians from various UK political parties, and it will aim to promote legislative change that will have a positive impact for vegetarians, vegans, and the issues that matter to us (which may include "food and medicine labelling, vegetarianism and veganism as protected beliefs, impact of diet on climate change, and institutional catering provisions", according to the group's website).

Photo from the Vegan Society's website.

The Vegan Society, the Vegetarian Society, and Vegetarian for Life are collaborating to form this group. The groups has four "Officers": Christina Rees (Labour MP), Kerry McCarthy (Labour MP), Henry Smith (Conservative MP) and Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party Peer).

I don't know whether all the Officers of the group are vegan or not, but I do know that Labour MP Kerry McCarthy is vegan, according to The Vegan Option podcast (see link below).

According to the Vegan Society,

"The APPG on Vegetarianism and Veganism will be a great platform for discussion and learning, with the aim of encouraging legislation change.

This will be a forum for exchanging ideas and concerns relating to vegan and vegetarian issues. Speakers will be present at each of the quarterly meetings, providing an insight to their various expertise. Experts, leaders in their fields and parliamentarians are all welcome to join."

As the Vegan Society mentions, "The APPG on Vegetarianism and Veganism is an important opportunity to get veganism on the political agenda."

I think that it's extremely important for veganism to be acknowledged in political forums. If we want to create a world in which all animals are free from abuse and exploitation, it's important for veganism and animal rights to enter all major areas of society, including (but not limited to) popular culture, industry, media, commerce, law, education, and, indeed, politics.

I'm glad that this group plans to put a focus on veganism, rather than farm animal "welfare" reforms. Although I respect my fellow vegan activists who take a "welfarist" approach to farmed animals, I never spend my time advocating for farmed animal "welfare" reforms. The problem with simply enacting more farmed animal "welfare" reforms (such as putting chickens in bigger cages, etc.) is that "welfare" reforms don't work to eradicate the underlying exploitation of the animals, and they often don't translate into a big change for the animals, anyway. Rather than encouraging people to go vegan and therefore stop the inherent cruelty of exploiting and killing our fellow sentient beings, arguing for farmed animal welfare reforms is ignoring the fact that exploiting and killing animals is fundamentally wrong. Although I wouldn't advocate against farmed animal welfare reforms, I believe we can save more of these animals and transition to a vegan world faster if we focus our energies on veganism and animal rights. I hope, therefore, that this group will keep the focus on veganism and the rights of vegans and vegetarians.

If you're interested in learning more about vegan politicians and how veganism has begun to make its way into the political realm, The Vegan Option podcast has a three-part series called "Veganism in Politics". Part 1 includes interviews with some vegan or vegetarian MPs from Britian, the US, and India who were in office at the time the episode was recorded. Part 2 has a Q & A with three vegan British MPs, and Part 3 is the recording of a debate in the British House of Parliament on World Vegan Day. You can also read about two more vegan politicians in a blog post on The Vegan Option's website here.

If you are a member of the British public and would like to attend the first meeting of the APPG on Vegetarianism and Veganism, you can RSVP on the group's website. If I lived in Britain, I would be very keen to go!