Goodbye food groups and serving sizes. Hello plants and veggies!
Forget everything you know about pyramids, rainbows, and the old food guide. Healthy eating is now represented by a circle, or rather a plate, according to the newest iteration of Canada’s Food Guide, which was released in January 2019.
The new guide isn’t just a slightly updated version of the previous guide, which was released in 2007. It boasts a myriad of changes that significantly distinguish it from earlier versions. Let’s dive into the nuances of this new map to healthy eating for Canadians by finding out what three experts at U of G think about the change.
The old food guide
Before we get into the 2019 food guide, we should quickly recall the details of the old guide. The now obsolete rainbow food guide contained four distinct, colour-coordinated arches along with recommended serving sizes based on age and sex. For adults aged 19-50 the guide recommended:
- 7 to 8 servings (for women) and 8 to 10 servings (for men) of fruits and vegetables
- 6 to 7 servings (for women) and 8 servings (for men) of grains
- 2 servings of milk and alternatives
- 2 servings (for women) and 3 servings (for men) of meat and alternatives
The old food guide had two distinct features that are absent in the 2019 version: food groups and serving sizes. That’s right, everyone. Canada no longer has food groups. Brag about that to your American friends.
“It’s not really an update,” said David Ma, a U of G professor in the Department of Human Health and Nutrition Sciences. “It’s a significant upgrade.”
In place of rigid numbers plastered below the food rainbow, we’re now handed a plate with an eclectic collection of foods organized into neatly piled sections. Half the plate has vegetables and fruits, a quarter has protein foods like milk and beans, and the other quarter features grains. Arrows point toward each segment with phrases like:
- “Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables”
- “Eat protein foods”
- “Choose whole grains”
They also added a glass of water to the visual with the phrase: “Make water your drink of choice.”
At first scan you might think, “Yeah, this seems pretty standard. It’s just telling us what we already know.” Well, to that I say, look at the new food guide a little closer. Upon further inspection, you’ll notice two drastic alterations to the old version:
- The addition of the glass of water
- The conflation of the meat and dairy categories
It makes sense to suggest water as ‘the drink of choice’ when you realise that 35 per cent of daily adult sugar intake comes from drinks like pop and juice, and excess sugar leads to issues like diabetes and obesity, according to Health Canada. However, the amalgamation of two previously integral parts of the food guide is less intuitive to the average consumer.
“This [new food guide] recognizes that milk and dairy is part of protein as opposed to separate from it,” said Ma in an interview with The Ontarion.
In the new food guide, meat and dairy aren’t divided on the plate. Instead, as nutrition science has advanced and globalization has increased our food options, we now recognize that dairy is more in line with legumes and meat. The joining of these sections form the quarter of the plate known as protein.
With the removal of rigid serving sizes and the reduction of two once mighty food groups, it might seem like this version of the guide has lost a considerable amount of structure compared to the old one. They’ve made up for this loss of controlled yet confusing and nondescript serving sizes with a list of recommended foods within each category to help consumers understand what it takes to eat properly within each section of the plate. The list highlights a preference toward plant-based foods, even within the protein section.
“The final text on the food guide merely says, ‘Eat protein foods,’” said Ma. “However, if you look deeper into the text, it does infer that you should choose more plant-based protein foods [like beans, nuts, and lentils].”
Over the past several years, an increasing number of studies have touted the health benefits of choosing plant-based protein over animal products; benefits like decreased instances of colon cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues. To many, the 2019 food guide’s move towards a plant-based diet seems like the next logical step in our public food education.
The business of food
While it might seem like a good thing for the government to swivel toward recommending plant proteins, the folding of meat and dairy into one category with a severely diminished presence has been a source of contention for the Canadian meat and dairy industries.
“Since the 1940s, the food guide was more about creating food sovereignty and supporting the farming sector,” said Simon Somogyi, the Arrell Chair in the Business of Food (School of Hospitality, Food & Tourism Management) at U of G. “This food guide focuses more on the nutrition of people as opposed to helping out the agri-food industry.”
Somogyi notes that in response to this public health shift and consumer outcry for more plant-based proteins, larger meat and dairy corporations, like Maple Leaf Foods, have already started adapting. Meat and dairy companies are now collaborating with plant-based food companies and releasing product lines catered to these growing needs.
Keeping up with market demand isn’t an issue with the right capital and brand name. However, the main concern lands at the farming end of the food production line since many farm owners may not have the money or resources to rapidly move with changing food trends.
“Farms can only produce what is possible based on their climate soil profile, acreage, and agronomic conditions of their farm,” said Somogyi.
He suggests that, to open opportunities for certain industries that this new food guide effects, farmers and processors (particularly in the dairy sector) should be allowed to export their products to countries with higher demand for their products, such as China.
It’s not all food
Another unique facet of this food guide compared to the old version is the addition of tips for maintaining healthy eating practices.
“The previous food guide mainly focused on what to eat. Now we are also talking about eating habits,” said Jess Haines, a professor in U of G’s Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition. “There is strong evidence to suggest that the benefits of a healthful diet aren’t just about the foods we eat, but how we eat.”
These tips were developed with modern Canadian food habits in mind. Habits like eating rushed meals in isolation, ordering food on delivery apps, or grabbing fast food on the go.
Some of these research-based recommendations include being mindful about what we eat and how we eat, being informed about what’s in your food by cooking meals at home, and encouraging healthier food choices by sitting down for meals with friends and family (or strangers if you’re into that sort of thing).
It may seem hard for university students to follow Health Canada’s recommendations, as many of us struggle to balance busy schedules, secluded study hours, and possess little to no cooking abilities. As an entry point into Canada’s Food Guide, Haines suggests trying out some of the recipes featured on their website. The recipes are meant to be simple to follow while still meeting the guidelines outlined in the new document.
Food and the future
During my interviews with U of G’s resident food guide experts, there was a consensus that the 2019 food guide hits the mark when it comes to evidence-based, relevant recommendations to improve the health of Canadians.
This new document may be a welcomed first step in educating Canadians about healthier living, however it is still only a guideline. It’s up to us to implement these suggestions and make them work for our own lives and our individual health needs.
Life is short, so why not try to extend it as much as possible by eating well and being more mindful about the food we use to fuel our lives?
Photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion