For What It’s Worth: The ‘Beef’ with ground meat labelling

By Cash Moore on June 16, 2022.

Last week, Health Canada announced that food products containing 15% or more of daily dietary recommendations on sodium, sugar and saturated fats will require a disclaimer label. Health Canada’s logic behind the decision is it will provide consumers with better clarity on the health effects of the food we eat.

This all sounds fine and dandy at first glance. However, the policy becomes puzzling when taking a look at the type of products which are and aren’t exempt. In particular, it appears as though ground beef and ground pork are unfairly targeted by the initiative.

Other raw, non-processed, single-ingredient cuts of meat such as steak, ribs, chops, etc. are all exempt. For some reason though, if the meat is put through a grinder instead of cut with a knife; through the eyes of Health Canada, it is no longer worthy of an exemption.

Furthermore, all dairy products are exempt from the program despite the fact that they contain similar levels of saturated fats and higher sugar than ground meat products. This highlights the federal government’s well documented favouritism toward the Quebec and Ontario dominated dairy industry.

Roughly half the beef consumed in Canada is ground. Putting a warning label on a staple of the Canadian diet is harmful to both producers and consumers. Ground meat is popular because it is affordable, easy to prepare and versatile in the kitchen.

To boot, ground meat is not really unhealthy. Most ground meat is not eaten raw, therefore much of the saturated fat in the meat is lost in the cooking process. Ground meat is also rich in vital nutrients like zinc, iron and vitamin B12. Studies have shown that a very small percentage of Canadians’ saturated fat intake comes from ground meat.

Rather than target nutritious whole foods like ground meat, Health Canada should focus efforts on hyper-processed junk food (many junk food products will also be exempt due to containing dairy).

With out-of-control inflation, the government should not be adding more red tape to the supply chain, especially in an industry as important as beef and pork.

Livestock producers are struggling with absurd feed and fuel prices and Cypress County has declared a state of agricultural disaster for the second year in a row due to drought.

Health Canada’s decision is another blow to farmers and ranchers when they’re already down. When our local producers take a hit, so does the consumer and our community at large.

Cash Moore is a political science student at the University of Alberta from Medicine Hat