As surely as night follows day, the excesses of the holiday season result in earnest New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more and take better care of ourselves. These are excellent objectives that almost all Canadians could benefit from. But we know most will not achieve the goals that seem so temptingly within reach on New Year’s Day.
That’s because they are hard, very hard. We need all the help we can get. Including from the federal government.
Yes, Ottawa could and should be helping us all eat better and giving us a valuable leg up on achieving these excellent New Year’s resolutions.
The government has already done so in recent years, from a ban on heart-clogging industrially produced trans fats to the much celebrated food guide. However, there are two outstanding pieces of their Healthy Eating Strategy that they should do, and indeed, say they want to do — require easy-to-understand nutritional information be placed prominently on the front of packaged foods and restrict marketing directed at children.
New labelling rules would require simple, clear messaging on the front of food packages so consumers will know quickly whether an item is high in sugars, sodium (salt) and/or saturated fat — the three big threats to a healthy diet.
This front-of-package labelling, already proposed by Health Canada, would be a much better and valuable tool for rushed shoppers, as well as those with low literacy skills than the current hard-to-read and understand nutrition facts tables on the backs or even bottoms of current packages.
Such new rules would also create an incentive for manufacturers to reformulate products with less saturated fat, sodium or sugars so they avoid the prominent “high in” label.
Limiting marketing to children is also a vital step to end the current bombardment of our kids with television and online advertising that urges them to consume ultra-processed foods that are less healthy for them. Quebec has not permitted such advertising to children under 13 for decades and data show lower consumption rates of ultra-processed foods and lower obesity rates.
According to a poll a year ago, 80 per cent of Canadians support enacting these two policy measures as quickly as possible to help consumers and protect our young people. Even the federal government itself is supportive.
Health Canada published draft regulations for front-of-package labelling in 2018, but they have languished without the process being completed. Limiting marketing to children across Canada was approved by the House of Commons but did not get final approval in the Senate before the 2019 election was called.
Everything is in place for these important policies to be adopted quickly. While our personal New Year’s goals might not meet success, we can all hope that 2022 will be the year the federal government achieves its long-held resolution to make these important changes.
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