Expect new food guide to downgrade dairy

It’s the last thing producers want — but it is what Canadians need, Sylvain Charlebois writes.

It appears the four food groups most Canadians know by heart are on their way out. Health Canada has announced it will release its long-awaited new food guide in the spring, and recent leaks suggest dairy products will no longer have their own category.

In fact, milk and dairy products are to be only one of more than 28 food items Health Canada intends to encourage Canadians to consume more of. It is an audacious move that, for the first time in decades, helps give the food guide a new purpose.

Canada’s first food guide came out in 1942, in the middle of the Second World War. At the time, food security was a much more significant issue than it is today. The food guide was more of a tool to showcase Canadian agriculture and stimulate the rural economy.

The initial guide had six food groups instead of four, but not much else has changed since then. Our current guide is already more than 12 years old. Meanwhile, the United States systematically revises its food pyramid every five years. Japan, Brazil and even China — along with several European countries — have modernized food policies to reflect their society’s modern way of life.

Most food guides promote nutrients rather than specific food products. It appears Canada now intends to catch up. The new food guide is expected to depart from its humble initial purpose of sponsoring agriculture and will finally serve our quest for a better quality of life.

Food demand in Canada is more fragmented than ever, as a result of more immigration and different lifestyles and values affecting food choices. Our modern lifestyle is slowly destroying the “three meals a day” institution as we know it, and out-of-household food consumption is at an all-time high. Snacks, grab-and-go solutions and other quick food fixes are now very much a part of the daily routine of many Canadians.

If Health Canada goes ahead with the changes, proteins are one area that will see significant shifts over time. Our vibrant beef industry could have a very different place in our food guide, but will continue to do well regardless. Dairy is likely to be affected the most. Entrenched conventions — protected and institutionalized for decades — will be challenged.

Dairy is represented by what most consider to be the most influential lobby group in Canadian agriculture, spending over $80 million every year to encourage Canadians to drink milk and eat more dairy products. The current food guide gives dairy a vital place in our diet, at four servings a day. Supported by our supply management scheme, dairy farmers have relied on long-standing, policy-driven support to make a living — from milk served in schools to seeing dairy products promoted at key events across the country.

Now, with three new trade deals that have opened our market to more dairy products from abroad, a new food guide without a dairy category or a prescribed number of servings is the last thing the Canadian dairy sector wants.

But it is exactly what Canadians need to help them better understand how to lead healthier lives. Obesity, especially among children, is at unacceptable levels. As well, food security remains a lingering issue influencing our nutritional choices. Welcome additions to the guide encourage Canadians to value nutrition, to drink water and to consider where and how we eat and with whom.

Just setting standards on portions and food products is fruitless.

Regardless of what happens next, dairy farmers, while producing a high-quality product for Canadians, will need to accept that their commodity is now part of a much larger portfolio of good, natural food ingredients.

Milk and dairy products will coexist with several other commodity groups that deserve as much attention, if not more.