Canada’s agricultural sector must align with sustainable diets

Last fall, Canada launched consultations that will lead to the country’s first Sustainable Agriculture Strategy, a plan whose stated purpose is “to improve environmental performance in the sector over the long-term, support farmer livelihoods and strengthen the business vitality of the Canadian agriculture industry.” Worryingly, however, the consultation document made no mention of the upcoming dietary shift in favour of more plant-based foods that is needed to respect the global carbon budget. With hundreds of participants to the consultations calling for the strategy to align the agricultural sector with sustainable diets, will the coming consultation report correct the course? As the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reminded us, our eating habits need to change in a big way for Canada to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Scientists have shown time and time again that the environmental impact of meat and dairy is significantly higher than the equivalent in plant-based foods. For instance, 100 grams of beef protein emits an average of 50 kg of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, 59 times more than the same protein content in pulses, as per a 2018 Science study. This is in addition to the fact that animal-sourced foods require greater quantities of water than their plant protein counterparts for equivalent nutritional content. It also requires much more land—land that could be freed up to rewild and restore biodiversity. Renaud Gignac is an economist and the administrative co-ordinator at Coalition for a Sustainable Food Transition. Photograph courtesy of Renaud Gignac Researchers using comprehensive food-systems models, such as Marco Springmann’s team at Oxford University, demonstrated in 2018 that greenhouse gas emissions simply won’t stay within the planet’s boundaries unless we change our diets towards more plant-based foods. In other words, even with the best available cleantech, it is mathematically impossible to stabilize the climate without cutting back on meat and dairy. For a country like Canada, a 50 per cent reduction by 2030 is needed. This is in line with Canada’s Food Guide, which recommends that Canadians choose plant-based protein more often. Despite the scientific evidence, Canada’s climate strategy for the agricultural sector is currently all about changing production techniques and technologies without changing the mix of what foods are produced. This needs to evolve. With now more than 70 countries aiming for net-zero emissions by mid-century—including the world’s biggest emitters like China, the United States, and the European Union—gearing our agricultural sector to meet the needs of tomorrow’s sustainable diets represents a huge economic opportunity for Canada. Our agricultural sector is already well positioned, being the world’s largest exporter of peas. According to the National Research Council of Canada, Canada's plant-based protein sector is expected to contribute more than $4.5-billion to our GDP and more than 4,500 jobs by 2029. Ina Maria Toncescu is a board director at Canadians for Responsible Food Policy and a small business consultant. Photograph courtesy of Ina Maria Toncescu Industry flagships like Roquette—which opened the world’s largest pea protein plant in 2021 in Portage la Prairie, Man.—are already tapping into that potential, supported by Canada’s Protein Industries Cluster. And some traditional producers are already surfing the plant-based wave, like Maple Leaf Foods, which acquired two plant protein brands in recent years. Or like Lactalis, which transitioned its Sudbury, Ont., dairy plant in 2022 to full production of plant-based dairy alternatives. The food system transition can and must be a just transition for all. For average Canadians struggling with record-high inflation, sustainable diets mean a more affordable grocery basket, as unprocessed plant proteins like chickpeas or lentils are cheaper than meat. The new Sustainable Agriculture Strategy should also offer appropriate compensation and retraining to those from the 110,000 people working in the meat and dairy sector who will suffer impacts from a shift to more plant-based foods. Just like new opportunities are needed as the coal, oil, and gas sectors are transforming, not adequately preparing our agriculture sector for tomorrow’s global dietary shift would be short-sighted, and just bad economic planning. Will the new strategy align Canada’s agriculture with sustainable diets? The answer will tell us whether the Liberal government is serious about fighting climate change, or whether it prefers to bury its head in the sand. Renaud Gignac is an economist and the administrative co-ordinator at Coalition for a Sustainable Food Transition. Ina Maria Toncescu is a board director at Canadians for Responsible Food Policy and a small business consultant. The Hill Times