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The new Canada Food Guide has a greater focus on plant-based sources of protein for “positive effects on health.”
The Canada Food Guide is getting an overhaul and Canadian dairy farmers are
angry.
According to the National Post, a major change in the new guide is a greater
focus on plant-based sources of protein for “positive effects on health.” In
fact, the new food guide cuts milk and cheese almost entirely, suggesting
legumes and unsalted nuts as healthy alternatives to cheese and water instead of
milk.
An earlier draft recommended “regular intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains
and protein-rich foods, especially plant-based sources of protein.” The Canada
Food Guide even takes the environment into consideration: “Diets higher in
plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods are associated with a lesser
environmental impact.” It’s great to see the latest version promote an increase
in fresh whole foods and a decrease in meat, eggs, and dairy.
Dairy farmers are not happy about it, claiming it “risks harming Canadian
consumers by creating confusion about the nutritional value of dairy.”
This isn’t the first time the Canadian government has fought the dairy industry.
Last year, Health Canada, the governmental department responsible for the
country’s public health, proposed warning labels for unhealthy foods high in
saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. Dairy farmers fear that most of their products
would fall under this category and consumers would rethink their purchases.
The truth is, the dairy industry should be scared. Milk and other dairy products
are actually bad for you and increase health risks. In fact, dairy is the number
one source of saturated fat in the U.S.
Dairy consumption has been linked to prostate cancer in more than 20 studies,
while a 2006 Harvard study found women with diets high in meat and dairy
increased their risk of cancer by 33 percent.
Shockingly, women who consume dairy products such as yogurt, ice cream, and
cheese could raise their risk of mortality from breast cancer by 50 percent,
according to an extensive 2013 study. The same study found that because milk
products come from pregnant cows, they are particularly high in estrogen.
While the dairy industry touts milk as good for strong, healthy bones,
populations that consume the most cow’s milk and other dairy products have some
of the highest rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures, according to a study by
musculoskeletal epidemiologist Tania Winzenberg and her colleagues.
If heightened disease risk weren’t scary enough, think about this: Animals
suffer tremendously for dairy products. At dairy factory farms, cows are
routinely brutalized, forcibly impregnated, and kept in horrendous conditions.
Torn from their mothers soon after birth, male calves are killed for veal and
most females are raised to produce more milk. At the end of their miserable and
heartbreaking lives, cows at dairy farms are sent to a violent slaughter.
But you don’t have to wait for the government to take action. You can
help protect your health and cows by withdrawing your financial support from
the dairy industry.
With Danone seeking to triple the size of its plant-based business, Elmhurst
Dairy going completely vegan, and other dairy companies investing in
alternatives, it’s never been easier to be vegan.
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We began this archive as a means of assisting our visitors in answering many of their health and diet questions, and in encouraging them to take a pro-active part in their own health. We believe the articles and information contained herein are true, but are not presenting them as advice. We, personally, have found that a whole food vegan diet has helped our own health, and simply wish to share with others the things we have found. Each of us must make our own decisions, for it's our own body. If you have a health problem, see your own physician.