Tag Archives: food industry

Dietitians of Canada remove themselves from corporate sponsors back pockets!

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , ,

Exciting news: at the close of Nutrition Month it seems that Dietitians of Canada has heard the pleas of many of us Canadian dietitians. As of next year they will no longer be accepting sponsorship from the food industry! This means members will no longer receive coupons for such products as bologna, nutrition posters prominently featuring pork, or fact sheets developed by multinational soft drink companies. This also means that Nutrition Month will be about improving the nutrition of the general population as it will no longer be driven by the agendas of sponsors such as Dairy Farmers of Canada and Hellman’s Mayonnaise. In the long-term it may even mean the elimination of Milk and Alternatives as a food group on Canada’s Food Guide. Imagine the possibilities that can be explored by a national dietetic body driven solely by scientifically proven nutrition research and common sense!

 

 

April Fools! If only it were true…

Nutrition Month 2012: Get the real deal on Dietitians of Canada

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , , ,
Nutrition Month 2012: Get the real deal on your meal?
In case you haven’t already heard: March is Nutrition Month! Every year, Dietitians of Canada runs a campaign for Nutrition Month. I was excited when I heard that this years theme was “Get the real deal on your meal!” It’s all about “busting up food and nutrition myths.” Awesome, pretty much exactly my MO on this blog. Then I saw the material…. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment upon seeing what appears to me to be a missed opportunity. Some of the purported myths may actually be truths, and even the ones that are true are “busted” in such a wishy-washy manner that they may as well be true. Fortunately, my disappointment was short-lived as I realised that I could attempt to tackle this missed opportunity. So, every day this month, I’ll be re-busting one of DC’s myths. There’s 39 in total so I may skip a few, or double-up.
I’d like to begin today by addressing the issue of sponsorship. Personally I am not a member of Dietitians of Canada because I think it’s shameful, not to mention unethical, that they accept sponsorship from the food industry. To me, that’s a major conflict of interest, and as registered dietitians we’d be investigated by our provincial governing body (and hopefully stripped of credentials) if we were receiving money from the food industry. DC does not disappoint with the sponsors of Nutrition Month 2012. The sponsors this year are: Dairy Farmers of Canada, Loblaw Companies Limited, General Mills Canada, Unilever – specifically Hellman’s and Lipton. How can anyone take a nutrition campaign seriously that’s sponsored by mayonnaise and a company that makes Betty Crocker?! Is it a coincidence that the myths include: three myths about milk, a myth about tea, and a myth about mayonnaise? I think not.

#FS2012 Canadian Food Summit in Tweets

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , ,

My summary of the Canadian Food Summit 2012 in tweets:

  • The line-up for #FS2012 is insane! Hope this means it’s going to be a good conference.
  • Loads of food for breakfast at #FS2012 but no fruit or yoghurt! A little disappointing. Obviously not organized by dietitians.
  • Galen Weston on farmers’ markets: “someday they’re going to kill people.” Side note: Maple Leaf Foods is one of the #FS2012 sponsors.
  • Interesting dynamic when a conference has food industry, farmers, public health, non-profit…
  • Go Nick Saul from @TheStopCFC asking Galen Weston about the true cost breakdown of food!
  • Butter at the highest end of food prices.
  • Great presentation by Kim Raine at #FS2012 – they should’ve switched it so the food industry ppl were forced to attend.
  • MQ: the costs of junk food are hidden/forestalled as the costs to healthcare down the line @bittman #amen
  • Just had a vision of sugary foods and beverages being sold by dealers on the street like crack.
  • And then there was coca cola and ice cream sandwiches. Apparently we’re not planning on leading by example.
  • Large scale agriculture is the only way forward in Canadian food industry according to Michael McCain. #ignorance
  • If by “enjoy” you mean feeling frustrated and enraged, then yes, absolutely enjoying this ;)
  • No fresh fruit at break but we did have this lovely display of plastic veg.
  • Looking forward to this debate with @bittman and @thelocavore!
  • In case you were wondering: there’s about 8 mg vitamin C in a small McDonald’s fries and in an apple. More to it than that though.
  • Excellent passionate and rational argument by @thelocavore – take notes @bittman!
  • Hey Rob: supermarkets and farmers’ markets aren’t diametrically opposed. You can buy local food at the supermarket.
  • Also, farmers’ markets aren’t novelties for everyone. I know loads of people who do the bulk of their shopping at them.
  • Interesting that there’s been no discussion about Community Supported Agriculture.
  • Great first day at #FS2012 – nice to make so many new twitter friends. Looking forward to tomorrow (but first sleep!).
  • So Canada is 3rd (behind Australia & Chile) with a rating of -1.5; therefore, at low risk for food insecurity. What does this mean?
  • Consumer food security will be assured as long as producers make money.
  • New Moo Moo Bar. 1.5″ long and 3 g saturated fat, 11 g sugar.
  • I learned a lesson from yesterday and brought a banana with me for breakfast. Not even fruit centre pieces today.
  • “Get a government that cares!” – @scotfoodjames
  • Disappointed by @scotfoodjames commenting that “fat tax” is bad because we should take personal responsibility.
  • Ralph Martin at #FS2012 suggests we consider having a Ministry of Food and bringing home economics back to schools. Yes! And YES!!
  • @scotfoodjames I agree that taxation isn’t the answer but not bc we can take personal responsibility. We need to change our food environment.
  • @scotfoodjames education is one piece but not enough. Healthy choices need to be easier to make.
  • Excellent presentation by Nick Saul from @TheStopCFC! Yes to Ministry of Food, yes to National School Nutrition Program!
  • I like that Nick Saul pointed out that we need to be involved in food policy not just as consumers but as citizens.
  • Just had lunch with a gentleman from the CFIA. Keep an eye out for up coming food labelling public consultations.
  • Unfortunate that #FS2012 ended on such an uninspiring mote. Overall an interesting couple of days though.

Galen Weston doesn’t care about small farmers

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , ,

As you may have heard, Galen Weston really put his foot in it at the Canadian Food Summit 2012 yesterday. He made an off-the-cuff comment about how some day farmers’ markets are going to kill people. Naturally, that enraged many farmers in the room and others of us who support local food and community food security. I found it especially ironic as Maple Leaf Foods was one of the conference sponsors. Sure, people might get food poisoning from foods sold at a farmers market but that’s going to have a far less widespread effect than an outbreak in a food distributed by a national supermarket chain. Moving on…

Another thing that Galen mentioned was that Canada could become the world’s leading producer of pulses if we undertake a strategy like that of Brazil in cornering the orange market. I like that he recognized that we’re a major producer of pulses. I also like that pulses are an affordable and nutritious food; a high-fibre, low-fat meat alternative. However, I’m concerned about putting all of our eggs (or legumes/pulses) in one basket. Do we really want to be financially dependent on one crop? Personally, I think it’s better to diversify. Mixed farms are far more sustainable and efficient than large scale mono-crop farms. Growing one type of food is not the answer to Canada’s agricultural industry.