Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
You haven’t convinced me of the need to produce a new food guide because you’re unable to provide us with data on the impact of Canada’s current guide. It might be important to study its effects on society. There’s been an increase in obesity. The only information I have to assess Canada’s Food Guide is that a food guide does exist and that obesity has increased.
You tell us that if people want to improve Canada’s Food Guide, they’re welcome to do so. The Guide is just about to be published, so I find it difficult to see how you’re going to accept recommendations. As you know, we’ve heard witnesses with a certain amount of experience in the area of food. One of those witnesses, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, Medical Director of Ottawa’s Bariatric Medical Institute, told us that the first thing his authorized dietician teaches patients is especially to not follow Canada’s Food Guide recommendations. That’s quite a stunning statement! He even told us that the diet recommendations differ radically from the traditional scientific and medical interpretation of the role played by diet in the prevention of chronic diseases, so he couldn’t help but wonder whether the information provided was biased or incomplete.
Mr. Bill Jeffery, from the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, spoke about the process that was set up and the list of people who participated in it. He said that some of the advisory committee members might be in a conflict of interest. There were many people from industry, as well as nutritionists from small communities, two of which had fewer than 15,000 inhabitants. The problem was not that they came from small communities but that they were employed full-time elsewhere and that they couldn’t make recommendations based on results obtained by organizations with the necessary institutional resources.
I read all of the comments made. Some people say that Canada’s Food Guide is not tailored to people with low levels of literacy and that it will be difficult for very-low-income families to understand it. Other witnesses have told us that Aboriginals and First Nations were not consulted. They don’t see the relevance of Canada’s Food Guide or how it could be adapted to their communities. So many people have told us that Canada’s Food Guide should be reviewed and corrected.
You claim to be open to receiving recommendations. Would you be willing to do this before the Guide is released? We’re in no hurry. Obesity is not an issue that can be solved in two or three months. Twenty years may be required to set things straight. Are you willing to accept a set of recommendations, before Canada’s Food Guide is published, from people whose only interest is in helping Canadians eat better?