Yesterday I received an email from a reporter doing a story on Canada's Food Guide and my criticisms therein.
In her email she noted that she had spoken to several independent dietitians regarding the potential for the Food Guide to lead to weight gain if followed (something I've blogged about extensively here and here) and they, as do many dietitians and their parent organization Dietitians of Canada, disputed my claims.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation in their promotion of Health Check, proudly announce that,
"you can trust that your choice meets specific nutrient criteria based on Canada's Food Guide."Schools teach the Food Guide to our children.
Institutional menus (hospitals, cafeterias, nursing homes, daycares etc.) use the Food Guide for guidance.
The food industry uses the Food Guide to promote their products.
Since January alone according to my media scanning site there have been 1,174 references made to Canada's Food Guide made in the Canadian press.
So I've got a hypothetical question for you.
What would happen to all of the folks, institutions and programs listed up above if a large, independent, reputable and well respected third party came out and blasted the Food Guide? Me, I'm easy to slough off (though the evidence is not) as a lone voice...in fact in many cases that's exactly what has occurred as did with the Heart and Stroke Foundation whereupon rather than specifically address my evidence-based concerns they instead commented on me as an individual to the Canadian Medical Association Journal,
"He's not the sole arbiter of healthy eating in the country. He hates Canada's Food Guide. We respect that. We don't necessarily agree with him, but the food guide was established by hundreds of experts."So what do you think would happen if all of a sudden I was no longer a lone voice in the nutritional wilderness?
Stranger things have happened.....