If we’re serious about changing dietary habits, we must start with our young Canadians: Senator Deacon
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For many of us, diet is often top of mind when our calendars change over. But what and how we eat has been in the news for reasons beyond new year’s resolutions these past few weeks. For instance, 37 scientists from the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health recently outlined a diet that will not only help us live longer, but also allows for sustainability as the global population grows. Moreover, the federal government recently released its revamped Canada Food Guide which, among other things, encourages Canadians to eat more fruits and vegetables, and to get more of their protein from plant-based sources, rather than the animal-based sources we have grown accustomed to.
But changing our food guide is just one piece of a broader dietary puzzle. Habits are hard to break, and the best way to change them is to prevent them from forming in the first place. To really change how our country eats, we need to focus on our young Canadians. One way of doing so is through a national children and youth nutrition program. Such programs have the dual effect of not only ensuring every young Canadian has access to at least one nutritious meal a day, but also teaches them healthy eating habits that will stay with them into adulthood.
This is not a novel idea. In 1997, a House of Commons committee recommended the creation of a national school nutrition program. In 2015, a Senate committee suggested the same. Most recently, my now retired colleague Senator Art Eggleton introduced a motion in the Senate that urges the government to consult with the provinces, territories, and Indigenous peoples in developing a national cost shared universal nutrition program. The motion remains on the Order Paper, and it is my hope to see it passed soon.
Some might be surprised to learn that Canada is an outlier in this regard, as we are the only G7 nation without some kind of national youth nutrition program. Perhaps this is one reason why in 2017 UNICEF ranked Canada 37th out of 41 high income countries when it comes to juvenile access to nutritious food. The repercussions of this are readily apparent. According to a 2016 Senate committee study, one out of every five Canadian children is overweight; over one in 10 are obese.
There are many ways a national program can go about reversing these numbers. The most obvious advantage is seeing to it that every young Canadian is provided with at least one nutritious meal a day. It seems inconceivable that in a country as rich as ours any child should want for food, yet every day nearly one in six Canadian children lacks access to food because their families can’t afford it, or it is not a family priority.
Nor is it only low income families who would benefit. One recent Canadian study showed that 90% of our students in Grades 6 to 12 are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. It’s easy to understand why. Dual income families are now the norm, and many parents are simply too pressed for time to prepare healthy, nutritious meals for their kids day in and day out. A universal nutrition program would take one more task off their plate, so to speak.
There is an educational component as well. Our youth learn by example, and what better way to do this than to demonstrate to them what healthy eating looks like. Such programs would also teach them how to eat sustainably.
In Brazil for instance, school food programs are required to obtain 30% of their food from small scale local farmers, boosting local economies in the process. Having our children grow up healthy is good; having them grow up healthy in an ecologically sustainable manner is better.
I applaud this government for committing to a national healthy eating strategy, but if we are serious about changing dietary habits, we must start with our young Canadians. This is an endeavour that requires not just federal leadership, but the cooperation of provinces and municipalities to be implemented in an efficient and effective manner. We all understand the importance of daily physical activity, yet that is only one piece of the puzzle for a happy and healthy lifestyle. Canada is falling behind in getting the right kind of food onto the plates of our youth, and there remains no better way to change this than through a universal children and youth nutrition program.
Senator Marty Deacon represents the Waterloo region of Ontario.
This article appeared in the February 4, 2019 edition of The Hill Times.
For many of us, diet is often top of mind when our calendars change over. But what and how we eat has been in the news for reasons beyond new year’s resolutions these past few weeks. For instance, 37 scientists from the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health recently outlined a diet that will not only help us live longer, but also allows for sustainability as the global population grows. Moreover, the federal government recently released its revamped Canada Food Guide which, among other things, encourages Canadians to eat more fruits and vegetables, and to get more of their protein from plant-based sources, rather than the animal-based sources we have grown accustomed to.
But changing our food guide is just one piece of a broader dietary puzzle. Habits are hard to break, and the best way to change them is to prevent them from forming in the first place. To really change how our country eats, we need to focus on our young Canadians. One way of doing so is through a national children and youth nutrition program. Such programs have the dual effect of not only ensuring every young Canadian has access to at least one nutritious meal a day, but also teaches them healthy eating habits that will stay with them into adulthood.
This is not a novel idea. In 1997, a House of Commons committee recommended the creation of a national school nutrition program. In 2015, a Senate committee suggested the same. Most recently, my now retired colleague Senator Art Eggleton introduced a motion in the Senate that urges the government to consult with the provinces, territories, and Indigenous peoples in developing a national cost shared universal nutrition program. The motion remains on the Order Paper, and it is my hope to see it passed soon.
Some might be surprised to learn that Canada is an outlier in this regard, as we are the only G7 nation without some kind of national youth nutrition program. Perhaps this is one reason why in 2017 UNICEF ranked Canada 37th out of 41 high income countries when it comes to juvenile access to nutritious food. The repercussions of this are readily apparent. According to a 2016 Senate committee study, one out of every five Canadian children is overweight; over one in 10 are obese.
There are many ways a national program can go about reversing these numbers. The most obvious advantage is seeing to it that every young Canadian is provided with at least one nutritious meal a day. It seems inconceivable that in a country as rich as ours any child should want for food, yet every day nearly one in six Canadian children lacks access to food because their families can’t afford it, or it is not a family priority.
Nor is it only low income families who would benefit. One recent Canadian study showed that 90% of our students in Grades 6 to 12 are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. It’s easy to understand why. Dual income families are now the norm, and many parents are simply too pressed for time to prepare healthy, nutritious meals for their kids day in and day out. A universal nutrition program would take one more task off their plate, so to speak.
There is an educational component as well. Our youth learn by example, and what better way to do this than to demonstrate to them what healthy eating looks like. Such programs would also teach them how to eat sustainably.
In Brazil for instance, school food programs are required to obtain 30% of their food from small scale local farmers, boosting local economies in the process. Having our children grow up healthy is good; having them grow up healthy in an ecologically sustainable manner is better.
I applaud this government for committing to a national healthy eating strategy, but if we are serious about changing dietary habits, we must start with our young Canadians. This is an endeavour that requires not just federal leadership, but the cooperation of provinces and municipalities to be implemented in an efficient and effective manner. We all understand the importance of daily physical activity, yet that is only one piece of the puzzle for a happy and healthy lifestyle. Canada is falling behind in getting the right kind of food onto the plates of our youth, and there remains no better way to change this than through a universal children and youth nutrition program.
Senator Marty Deacon represents the Waterloo region of Ontario.
This article appeared in the February 4, 2019 edition of The Hill Times.