My recent columns have looked at the many ways in which our food system harms both our health and the health of the planet.
The summit called for every country to appoint a national food systems convenor to establish a pathway to a transformed food system. Here in Canada, the federal government launched its Food Policy for Canada in 2019, with the goal of creating a healthier and more sustainable food system in which “all people in Canada are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food.” Canada also created the position of a national food systems convenor, who is a senior official in Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.
But the Pathways report is quite weak on the health side. Glaringly, there is no reference anywhere to diet-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer.