By Kristin E. Anderson

215 Pages·2012·11.06 MB·English

Review and Analysis of the Effect of Public Policy on
Nutrition Policy Instruments in Canada: 1867-2006
By Kristin E. Anderson
A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of
The University of Manitoba
in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
Department of Community Health Sciences
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg
Copyright @ 2007 by Kristin Anderson
THE UNTVERSITY OF MANITOBA
FACULTY OF G.RADUATE STIJDIES
COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
Review and Analysis of the Effect of Public Policy on
Nutrition Policy Instruments in Canadaz 1867-2006
BY
Kristin E. Anderson
A Thesis/Practicum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of
Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree
MASTER OF SCIENCE
Kristin E. Anderson @ 2007
Permission has been granted to the University of Manitoba Libraries to lend a copy of this
thesis/practicum, to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to lend a copy of this thesii/þracticum,
and to LAC's agent (tlMlÆroQuest) to microfilm, sell copies and to publish an abstract of this
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This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright
owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced anA copieO
as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright ownér.
ABSTRACT
Canada needs to consider innovative approaches to nutrition policy as increasing
rates of obesity have been linked to population health problems and negative
economic and environmental effects on society.
The history of Canadian nutrition policy from 1867 to 2006 was documented
through descriptive historical research. Use of neopluralism and mainstream
policy assumptions assisted in a phased analysis of structures and theories
related to policy development, policy communities and instrument choice.
The results suggest that nutrition policy goals and related instrument choices can
be categorized into four stages: 1867-1939, 940-1979, 1980-2000 and 2001-
1
present. The definition of food and nutrition problems varied historically between
individual and societal failure consistent with shifts in public policy between
welfare and neoclassical liberalism. Currently, nutrition policy instruments are
biased towards neoclassical liberalism. The hypothesis, that ccinsideration of
more coercive policy instruments suggest a shift in the context for decisions
related to nutrition policy was supported.
iti
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my Thesis Advisory Committee in assisting me develop and
implement a research plan and thesis to fulfill the requirements for a Masters of
Science degree at the Department of Community Health Sciences.
Thank you to Dr. Leslie Carrothers, Faculty of Community Health Sciences, and
Chair of the Advisory Committee for helping me to see how nutrition policy fits
within the larger public policy arena.
Thank you to Advisory Committee members, Dr. Gustav Sevenhuysen, Faculty
of Human Ecology and Dr. Joan Grace, Department of Politics, University of
Winnipeg, for your tough challenging questions that clarified the intent and
strengthened all aspects of the research.
I would also like to thank the Department of Graduate Studies of the University of
Manitoba for granting me a University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship from
January 1,2004 to August 31,2005.
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract.
. ... ... ... i¡
Acknowledgements
... ... .......iii
..
Table of Contents... . ... ..... iv
...
List of Tables and Figures ... ......v
Abbreviations.
...........vi
Introduction.....
Chapter 1: ..........1
Chapter 2: Nutrition History and Analysis: 1867-1939 .. .....21
1940-1979..
Chapter3: Nutrition PolicyandAnalysis: ......38
Chapter 4: Nutrition History and Analysis: 1 980-2000. .. ... .74
Chapter 5: Nutrition History and Analysis: 2001-2006. .....112
Chapter 6: Suggestions for Nutrition Policy in Canada . ... ...148
Instruments....
Appendix 1: Policy ....182
policy
Appendix 2: Policy Instruments for the proposed food .. ....184
(1989).
Appendix 3: Nutrition Recommendations for Canadians .185
. .
(1989)
Appendix 4: Canada's Guidelines for Healthy Eating .. .....1 86
Appendix 5: Actions 'from Nutrition for Health: An Agenda for Action (1996) ...187
Appendix 6: Suggestions from lmproving the Health of Canadians (2004)......188
Appendix 7: Suggestions from Ovenrueight and Obesity in Canada (2004)......1S9
(2006).
Appendix 8: Health Goals for Canada .. .190
(2005).
Appendix 9: Trans Fat Task Force Interim Report ...191
Appendix 10: Agricultural Policy Framework, Food Quality Activities (2005)....193
Cited
Works .......194
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 : Policy Instruments affecting Nutrition during 1867-1939 29
Table 2: Policy lnstruments affecting Nutrition between 1945 and 1g7g 53
Table 3 Policy Instruments affecting nutrition between 1g80 and 2000 89
Table 4: Policy lnstruments affecting nutrition between 2001 and 2006 122
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Instruments since 2001 According to Degree of Coerciveness Used
148
vi
ABBREVIATIONS
AAFC Agriculture and Agri-food Canada
APF Agriculture Policy Framework
BMI Body Mass Index
BSE Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
BNA The British North America Act
CAFS Canadian Association of Food Studies
CCHS Canadian Community Health Survey
CCFN Ganadian Council of Food and Nutrition
CFIA Canadian Food Inspection Agency
CIHR Canadian lnstitute for Health Research
coN Canadian Obesity Network
CPHA Canadian Public Health Association
CHST Canadian Health and Social Transfer Act
CSPI Centre for Science in the Public Interest
CDPAC Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada
crc
Commun ications/l mplementation Comm ittee
DRI Dietary Reference Intake
FIPN Federal/P rovi n cia l/Te rritoria I
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FPRB Food Prices Review Board
FTA Canada-US Free Trade Agreement
toM Institute of Medicine
NIN National lnstitute of Nutrition
NPHS National Population Health Survey
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
INMD Nutrition, Diabetes and Metabolism Institute, Canadian Institute for
Health Research
ONP Office of Nutrition Policy, Health Canada
OECD Organisation for Economic Development
RDA Recommended Dietary Allowances
RNI Recommended Nutrient Intakes
SRC Scientific Review Committee
UK United Kingdom
US United States
WHO World Health Organization
CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION
l. Problem Definition
Canada needs to consider innovative approaches to nutrition policy as
increasing rates of obesity have been linked to serious population health
problems. In 2005, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
identified that 46.5 per cent of the Canadian population was considered
overweight or obese. We ranked between Japan with the lowest percentage
(24.9 per cent) and the United States (US) with the highest percentage (65.7 per
cent) of oven¡veight or obese citizens (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation
and Development 6). Obesity is a risk factor for the development of chronic
diseases. More than 75 per cent of deaths in Canada are attributable to five
chronic diseases: cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, kidney disease, and
respiratory diseases (Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada).
In addition to health effects, the economic, social and environmental
irnpacts of obesity on society are becoming evident. A 1999 study estimated that
in 1997, the total direct cost related to treatment of and research into obesity in
Canada was more than $1.8 billion(Laird Birmingham et al. 483). lt has also been
noted that increased body weights and larger body sizes have increased costs to
industry. In the US, it was calculated that the average American body weight gain
over the last 10 years has required the consumption of an additional 350 million
gallons of jetfuel (Dannenberg, Burion and Jackson264). Further, the USArmy
has become concerned about finding new recruits fit enough to fight as a large
percentage of young adults are over the military weight standards, for entry to
2
training (Nolte et al. 486-490). From the environmental perspective, current food
production methods are resource intensive and based on industrial inputs such as
ferlilizers, pesticides and machinery linked to off-farm suppliers (Laidlaw 12-35).
The currently understood causes of obesity in western society can be
categorized using the epidemiological triad of host, agent and environment as a
framework to categorize sets of contributing factors. Hosf factors include
characteristics of the general population that increase the risk of becoming obese
such as age, gender or determinants of health. Agent factors are related to the
food intake of individuals. lt is well established that excess energy intake and
suboptimal energy expenditure are linked to the development of obesity.
Environmentalfactors provide the context for individual behaviour and include
physical, economic, policy and sociocultural factors that promotes excess food
intake and discourages physical activity(Canadian Institute for Health Information;
Swinburn et al. 123-146; Young 392). The goals of nutrition policy vary
according to the degree each set of factors is considered important in processes
that contribute to views about obesity as a public policy problem.
To evaluate government's response to obesity, it is ímportant to
understand the history of Canadian food and nutrition policy. Food policy can be
defined as production, marketing and consumption of food from an agriculture
perspective. Nutrition policy can be defined as sectoral policies concerned with
the food supply that have an explicit mandate to take the health and well-being of
the whole population into consideration (Helsing S1-S3). This study begins with
the assumption that liberalism, a centralfeature of public philosophy in Canada is
3
an important concept in understanding polÍcy instrument choice in the area of
nutrition. Terence Ball defines liberalism as the promotion of individual liberty by
trying to guarantee equality of status and opportunity within a pluralist society
(Ball, Terence et al 38-78). They note that a division within liberalism occurred in
the latter half of the 19th century as a result of different reactions to the social
effects of the lndustríal Revolution. Welfare liberals argued that properly directed
government policy can be a positive force for promoting individual líberty by
ensuring that everyone enjoys relative equality and condition in life. More
traditional classical and neoclassical liberals maintained that action of this sort
would invest too much power in government. In his 1984 historical study of a
range of policy areas, Manzer identified that Canadian public policy reflects
elements of both types of liberalism and that policy discourse overtime has
tended to favour one type over the other during particular periods (Manzer).
Following Confederation in 1867 , a classical approach was evident in a
Canadian social and economic policy framework that emphasized individual
responsibility for pursuing one's own good. The move towards urbanization and
industrialization in the early 20th century resulted in new social problems that
placed increasing demands on government to use their legal powers to reduce
risks faced by the population. These demands increased with the rise of the
welfare state in the 1940s that generally involved debates regarding government
responsibility for the provision of services, benefits and rights for citizens.
Treasury based policy approaches that redistributed income by financing services
to veterans, the unemployed, seniors and families with children were