Prominence of pulses in new food guide good for Saskatchewan pulse producers
Health Canada's newly unveiled updated food guide is welcome news for Saskatchewan pulse growers thanks to a recommendation to choose "protein foods that come from plants more often."
Saskatchewan's assistant deputy minister of agriculture Paul Johnson says having pulse crops and plant-based protein prominently featured in the new guide is "a good opportunity for Saskatchewan and our pulse industry."
"Saskatchewan produces almost 100 per cent of Canada's chickpeas and 90 per cent of the lentils in this country and a very large proportion of the dried peas," Johnson said.
The food guide was updated for the first time since 2007. Most notable is the removal of food groups in favour of a focus on portion size and hydration. It encourages people to follow three guidelines: what to eat regularly, what to avoid and the importance of making meals at home.
Health Canada said the guide is taught in schools and promoted by health professionals to support the goal of getting Canadians to eat well. It can also influence foods served and sold at daycares and schools, recreation centres, workplaces and health-care facilities.
"I think there are some important messages about portions and proportions of diets by looking at how they're representing the plate," said Gordon Bacon, CEO of Pulse Canada.
Bacon said the plant-based protein trend has been happening for a few years and is being spurred by major companies making investments.
He said the food guide does not touch on environmental sustainability and a dietary footprint.
"Consumers buy what they want but we have an obligation to make sure that the food is healthy and that we're making every effort to reduce the footprint of the food that we put in our grocery cart," Bacon said.
Concerns over reduced prominence of meat
The guide's front cover displays chickpeas, fruits and vegetables more prominently than meat and dairy.
That the assistant deputy minister's of Agriculture's attention.
"We have a fairly large livestock sector in this in this province. And the fact that livestock and and meat specifically is less prominent in the new food guide is a concern to our ministry and to our industry," Johnson said.
Those concerns are shared by the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association (SCA).
"We're a little disappointed that they missed the opportunity to point out to people what comes with the proteins they eat," said SCA CEO Ryder Lee.
"We think the nutritional punch that comes along with the protein you get in beef and how much protein you get from beef needs to be understood by people.
"When you look at you know a palm sized piece of beef, you're getting high quality available protein. You need to eat a lot of beans or a lot of spinach or a lot of other protein sources to get that much."
