Medical professionals with little understanding of the food industry will have increasing influence over agriculture and food policy in future, a Laval University researcher is warning.
Gale West, who specializes in surveys of farmers, consumers, nutritionists and doctors, told a conference on the future of Canadian agriculture Jan. 13 that the growing emphasis on food as part of the health industry gives health practitioners an increasing role in the national food debate.
“The medical profession is going to increasingly dictate a view of food and health,” West said.
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“But they know nothing about the practicality or farming or the economics of food production.”
With increasing attention on the unhealthy aspects of some food consumption, “the medical profession is after us,” she said. “There will be increasing pressure from consumers, politicians and doctors.”
She said that as consumers increasingly look to food as a source of their health future, they will look to health professionals for advice about what food and food systems are safe or better for them. A food company claim of a safe product can be undermined immediately by one skeptical comment about the product from a health professional.
“The doctor can destroy anything and everything with the drop of a hat,” said West.
“But they don’t have to know anything about the system they are criticizing. They know nothing about the practicality of farming or the economics of food production.”
She argued that there will be increased pressure to tax products that are deemed unhealthy without any understanding of how food is created or the alternatives that are in the market.
“I think there is a big problem for the food industry in this trend,” she said. “Health Canada may become a more important player than Agriculture Canada in setting food policy. In that competition, who do you think will win?”
