New Canada Food Guide Could Hurt Meat and Dairy Industry

For Immediate Release

Perth—Wellington, ON: M.P. John Nater is concerned over how the Liberal government’s updates to the Canada Food Guide could impact local farmers and agriculture businesses.

“I support decisions that are made on factual, science-based research. To ignore the significant health benefits that come from meat and dairy products does a disservice to Canadians. What is more, the impact of these changes will be significant to the farmers, farm families and local agriculture businesses of Perth—Wellington and indeed rural Canada.”

The revised Canada Food Guide has eliminated the four food groups and downgraded the importance of the nutrition of meat and dairy products. The new guide instead encourages Canadians to eat more plant-based proteins. This comes after farmers and agriculture industry groups were initially excluded from the government’s consultation process.

“The overwhelming majority of emails and phone calls I received were in support of maintaining dairy and meat as core components of Canada’s Food Guide” said M.P. Nater. “While there were concerns over levels of sodium, sugars and saturated fats in processed foods, the vast majority of constituents who contacted me were satisfied with the general makeup of the current Food Guide.”

Public institutions such as schools, long-term care homes, and correctional facilities, use the guide as a compass for good nutrition and dietary practices. As such, the changes will have a significant and lasting impact across the country. This is only a portion of the changes coming from Health Canada. The remainder are expected to be made public later this year.

M. P. Nater concluded by stating: “This comes from the same Liberal government which plans to revise food-labelling practices that would also negatively impact our agriculture industry. Experts have suggested that proposed front-of-package labelling requirements could be misleading to consumers. As it stands, the changes could mean a warning label would be placed on yogurt, but not on soft drinks or potato chips.”

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Media Contact:
Gregory Rosser
Office of John Nater
Email: john.nater@parl.gc.ca
Tel: (519) 273-1400