Frequently asked questions

Determining the sustainability of coffee and tea is complex, with many factors coming into play. However, there are a number of certifications to guide your choices: The fair trade system guarantees that farmers are rightfully paid, work under safe conditions, and employ environmental sustainability. Organic certification upholds the principles of health, ecology, and care in agriculture to ensure soil fertility, animal welfare, and conscious use and recycling of natural resources. Rainforest Alliance audits farms to assess the conservation of biodiversity, ethical labour, natural resource conservation, and proper farm planning and management. The University of Saskatchewan has a Sustainable Purchasing Guide for coffee and tea.

In a preliminary study of egg carton packaging, polystyrene (plastic) packaging was found to have a higher environmental impact than recycled paper and produced up to 16 times more greenhouse gases; however, paper packaging was found to produce more heavy metals. In a study of baby food packaging, when assessed over the same distance of transportation, plastic packaging was found to have a smaller environmental impact than glass packaging, although the difference is minimal.

Most of the controversy surrounding artificial food colourants (AFCs) involve links between its consumption and children’s behaviour, and attention deficit disorder in particular. It is statistically challenging to come to a hard conclusion of the effect of one variable on the other because of the variance in data collection and methodologies over the past 35 years. Ultimately, the United States Food and Drug Administration along with the European Food Safety Authority have concluded that there is no substantial link between the tested colourants and behavioural effects. Again, dosage dictates toxicity: artificial colourants are safe for consumption in appropriate amounts.

In Canada, four GM crops are currently grown: corn, soybean, canola, and sugar beet. GM crops are commonly genetically engineered to resist herbicides that may be used to control weeds. The chief concerns with GM crops arise from the uncertainty related to the long-term health effects of both consumption and the associated increased use of herbicides and pesticides. Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada state that there are no such effects. However, Health Care Without Harm encourages healthcare facilities to refrain from purchasing genetically engineered foods due to evidence of risks worldwide.

Canadian organic agriculture is built on the pillars of health, ecology, fairness, and care. Organic feed must not contain genetically modified crops, crops treated with synthetic chemicals or animal by-products. Organic feed is typically sourced from a diversity of crops which encourage healthy treatment of soil and ecosystems.

When reducing the frequency of meals containing meat and other livestock products (egg, milk, cheese, etc.), it is important to undertake tasting panels with clients and patients, with a goal of ensuring that recipes are as good or better than the previous ones! Education by food services and professional dietitians must accompany menu shifts—for example, information demonstrating that vegetarian diets can meet current recommendations for protein, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, vitamin D, and B12. Recipe origins should reflect the cultures present in the area of the healthcare facility, including traditional Indigenous foods

According to the EAT-Lancet commission, North Americans should reduce the amount of beef, lamb and pork they eat each week to around 100 g, and reduce consumption of chicken and other poultry to around 200 g, egg consumption by to around 90 g, and dairy products to around 1.75 litres of milk / 210 g of cheese, and they should increase their weekly consumption of fish to around 200 g, legumes to around 525 g, and nuts to around 350 g.

Processed meats have been changed from the natural state using additional ingredients, additives, and/or preservatives. In addition, this includes physical transformations such as pureeing, cubing, or cooking. The distinctive taste and colour of cured meats—including bacon, ham, and other processed deli meats—are due to the addition of synthetic nitrites and a lot of salt. Nitrites have the potential to form nitrosamines in the human body, which are classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. Processed meats are also often rich in salt and saturated fats and do not represent a good source of protein for that reason.

 Par ailleurs, elles contiennent souvent une forte teneur en sel et en gras saturés; pour cette raison, elles ne constituent pas une bonne source de protéines.

This includes organic, free range, and grass-fed meats. Sustainable meats contribute to healthy clients and healthy ecosystems. Health and environmental considerations impel us to move to limit consumption of meats with large environmental footprints and move to more plantbased diets in Canada. The more steps taken to transform the meat, the less sustainable it is.

The chemical composition of artificial flavours and natural flavours are the same. The only difference is the source of the chemicals: synthesized from numerous chemicals in the former or derived from numerous chemicals found in plants and/or foods in the latter. Natural does not necessarily mean “good” or “safe” and neither does artificial. Ultimately, dosage dictates toxicity: flavourings are safe for consumption in appropriate amounts.

Soy protein isolate is produced by extracting and heating soybeans to produce a protein isolate powder. Heating is a particularly energy-intensive step of this process and can lead to an environmental impact greater than or equal to that of animal protein equivalents. Technology such as waste-heat recovery can reduce the energy, cost, and environmental impact. According to the AFSSA, the overconsumption of soy protein isolate (isoflavone) may have a negative estrogenic interaction particularly for pregnant women and children before 3 years old who should avoid those product.