Should the advice in the Canadian Food Guide be taken with a pinch of salt?
CBC Radio | Posted: January 10, 2019 8:12 PM | Last Updated: January 10, 2019
The nutrition guide is in its 77th year and is being revised for first time since 2007
Health Canada is getting ready to publish a new edition of the Canada Food Guide, which was last updated in 2007. The guide has proven controversial in the past because so many different industries have a stake in what foods are highlighted, but experts have noted Health Canada's efforts to keep business out of the picture this time around.
To discuss the controversial role the food industry has played in influencing what Canadians eat, The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti spoke to:
- Ian Mosby, a food historian who says the food industry began influencing the nutrition guide after its first iteration. He says the 1982 version of the guide was the most problematic because "if you actually followed it, you'd be eating far more calories than you needed and a whole bunch of different foods that you didn't need to eat."
- Julia Belluz, senior health correspondent for Vox who says there is a long history of the food industry funding scientific studies on their products, which were "overwhelmingly favourable."
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this page.
This segment was produced by Samira Mohyeddin and Danielle Carr.