Trudeau pushed for nutrition crackdown

Jamie Oliver is calling on Canadians to push Justin Trudeau to develop a strategy for child nutrition, including more education, a crackdown on junk food advertising and better labelling on food products.

“You’re in a really exciting time because you’ve got a new prime minister and that means hope and possibility, but no one’s talking about what the strategy is for child health in this country,” said the British celebrity chef during an interview in Toronto.

“I think that’s a bit worrying . . . Should all kids in Canada learn how to grow and cook at school? Because they should. And to not is wrong, and to not is damaging to the economy in the future.”

The outspoken advocate for better food education around the globe thinks Canadians should demand more from the new incoming Liberal government.

“The moms and dads and the teenagers of Canada need to ask for that because if we don’t ask, we’ll just crack on with work and that’s a problem.”

Oliver was in Toronto to promote his new cookbook, Everyday Super Food and TV show Jamie’s Super Food.

Although he’s not averse to using bacon and beef in his recipes, he “completely supports” the World Health Organization’s recent declaration that processed meats raise the risk of colon and stomach cancer and that red meat is probably also harmful. “The message from the World Health Organization is ‘Wind it back, guys. You’re eating too much of it,’ ” Oliver said.

“Processed meats are a joy and a pleasure,” he added, but they can be high in salt, fat and preservatives.