Focus on food costs, not advertising bans

You know what would make your diet better? More government. Or so this particular government thinks. On Monday, Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott announced wide-ranging changes are coming: From better nutrition labelling to stamping out trans fats to overhauling the Canada Food Guide. Consultations will wrap up in December, with some changes in place by the end of 2018.

Philpott says Canadians need more individualized information from their food guide. Oh, and it’ll also be easier to interpret, though it’s unclear to us how seven to 10 servings of vegetables per day can be simplified much further.

The government also is stepping in to restrict advertising of unhealthy food to children. Presumably, that applies to sugary cereals and snacks kids love. The government is going to try to ensure better eating urges, pre-empting the work parents have traditionally done, which is watching their children’s diets all by themselves.

The government’s actions will naturally require robust consultations and other research. For instance, in order to ban advertising of unhealthy food to children, the government will have to sort out what, exactly, counts as unhealthy.

We all want Canadians to eat better; bad diet can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other health problems. The desire is laudable; the response seems overkill. Parents are already capable of resisting the demands of their children. Processed food doesn’t need to be festooned with warning labels for people to know it’s not that healthy. The question is why they continue to buy it; many eat less healthy food because it’s less expensive.

There can also be unexpected consequences to advertising bans, such as the end of sponsorships for good causes. In Quebec, a program by which Campbell soup labels could be traded in for school equipment ended because it contravened the advertising law. And the government will need people to police the rules.

Instead, the government should focus on things we know will improve diet, such as redoubling efforts to improve food access, quality and affordability in the North. In Nunavut, according to Food Banks Canada, one-fifth of all households skip meals regularly. The government promises more for its Nutrition North Program, which subsidizes food and promotes healthy eating. But much more can be done. The focus on updated guides, labels and advertising seems a bit hard to stomach when thousands don’t have enough food in theirs. — Postmedia Network