Canada’s New 2019 Food Guide Cuts Out Milk And Cheese Almost Entirely

In a brand-new food guide soon to be released by Health Canada, one of the original four food groups is drastically minimized. The document has yet to be made public, but early versions of Canada's National Nutrition Guide indicate that dairy is cut out almost entirely. Previously, it recommended Canadians take in four full servings of dairy products, including milk and cheese, every single day. Now, though, draft versions which were shown at focus groups have that number drastically reduced. 

In fact, in the new food guide, there is only one small quantity of dairy represented and recommended for daily intake: one pint of milk. This removes cheese, yogurt, and other delicious dairy products completely. 

To replace it, the draft guide has an increased focus on alternative proteins like legumes and unsalted nuts as a healthy alternative to cheese. As for beverages, messaging from the new guide encourages water instead of milk. 

The lack of dairy is the biggest change here, but it's not the only one. Also gone is the rainbow format of the guide that we have all grown up with. Instead, the guide simply identifies 28 different foods that should or could be eaten every day as part of a well-balanced diet. It doesn't even mention how much of each should be consumed. 

Reasons Why Dairy Is Bad For You

The change isn't entirely surprising, however. Cutting out dairy has been a popular move for people looking to improve their health and even lose weight. 

Even for people who aren't lactose intolerant, dairy can have negative effects on digestion, increase congestion, cause fatigue, and even lead to acne. Experts have recommended cutting dairy entirely to remedy all these problems and more.

Health Canada is in the process of changing the Canada Food Guide to one that is more plant-based. But Agriculture Canada along with the big meat and dairy industries are pressuring Health Canada to do otherwise because it “would have negative implications for the meat and dairy industries.” . “In trying to protect the bottom line of the industries they represent, these groups have suggested that the short-term economic interests of the meat and dairy industries take precedence over the health of Canadians. This is unacceptable.” . This is from a great opinion piece called “Health Canada’s new Food Guide is on the right track” by doctors and dieticians in the @calgaryherald from November 27. It’s troubling that Agriculture Canada is more concerned about profit of big meat and dairy industry rather than human health, water security and curbing climate change. . . #plantbased #canadafoodguide #foodguide #corporatization #bigmeat #bigdairy #corporatelobby #foodjustice #vegan #vegetarian #climatechange #sustainability #water #holisticnutrition #holistichealth #eathealnourish #soulfood #nourish #healthyfood #health #healthyeating #healthy #healing #food #foodporn #instafood #foodie #foodlover #delicious #peoplebeforeprofit

A post shared by Healthy Planet, Healthy People (@eat_heal_nourish) on Dec 2, 2018 at 8:30am PST

It seems with this new draft of the food guide, Health Canada could inadvertently be making those same recommendations as well. Since the guide hasn't been released yet, there's no way to know for sure though, and Health Canada is adamant that this isn't the final version. 

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They recently insisted that "the drafts presented in the focus groups do not represent the final versions of the guiding principles, tools, or resources." Nonetheless, the almost complete lack of dairy represented in the guide and the associated messaging could indicate a new milk-less horizon for Canadian nutrition.