10 signatures reached
To: Minister of Health Mark Holland
Require foods to be labelled clearly as containing or not containing animal products
The numbers of vegetarians and vegans in Canada has been significantly increasing in the past few years, due to various factors. According to Statista, "In 2020, almost 40 percent of consumers in a survey in Canada stated that they were willing to reduce their meat consumption, whilst around 9 percent were fully intending on doing so." Canada has a diverse population with diverse needs, sometimes avoiding certain meats and animal products for religious reasons, sometimes for concerns over their impact on the climate, and sometimes for personal health reasons, or concerns over animal welfare. The industry for meat and dairy alternatives has experienced significant growth in recent years, but one thing which has been really hindering it is the lack of clear labelling. In 2018, nearly 10% of Canadians were either vegetarian or vegan. Being vegetarian or vegan in Canada not only requires constantly reading the entire ingredients label, it also requires occasionally guessing as to the source of and processing method for certain ingredients which only sometimes come from animals, but aren't required to specify such things.
We as Canadians know that these food producers have the information regarding sourcing of their ingredients, it's the same information they need to provide in order to list nutrition facts and potential allergens. Such information is all that is necessary to create a straightforward, easy to spot label for whether a product does or does not contain animal products or byproducts, similar to India's labels for "veg" or "non-veg" foods.
We are asking for nothing more than a simple label, provided to indicate to consumers bits of information that the producers can already readily provide access to.
Make labelling requirements for foods which do or do not contain animal products or byproducts.
Why is this important?
According to Statista, "In 2020, almost 40 percent of consumers in a survey in Canada stated that they were willing to reduce their meat consumption, whilst around 9 percent were fully intending on doing so."
When we don't provide clear labelling for this information, it doesn't only affect Canadians with existing dietary restrictions, it also poses an unnecessary challenge for those of us who are interested in reducing meat and dairy consumption but haven't quite gotten there yet.
In 2018, nearly 10% of Canadians were either vegetarian or vegan. That number has since grown. Why would we make life harder for 1 in 10 Canadians instead of simply updating labelling requirements to provide information which is already accessible to producers?
If India can do it, so can we.