Canadians tell Ottawa to ‘bug off’ when asked to stop eating meat

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   February 26, 2024

Canadians have rejected a meat-free future after a new poll conducted by Trudeau's Liberals asked if 'climate change' would impact their decision.

“Among the suite of personal pro-climate mitigation habits assessed in this survey, efforts to eat a more plant-based diet are among the least common,” reads Climate Change Mitigation Behaviours, a Privy Council questionnaire.

Asked, “In the last two months, how frequently or infrequently have you made efforts to eat a more plant-based diet?” One-third (36%) said not at all, whereas 13% replied, “always.” 

Plant-based diets appear more common among women and those who pursued higher education, reads Mitigation Behaviours. They also "correlate with biospheric values, having a strong willingness to mitigate climate change and believing one’s personal actions can have a positive impact,” adds the questionnaire.

Documents obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter through an access to information request did not mention who ordered the polling on vegan diets.

The David Suzuki Foundation also urged consumers to avoid meat and dairy as part of their diets. Their report Food And Climate Change says meat and dairy production account for 83% of all agricultural land use, and are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gasses.

A supplementary UN report further attributed the consumption of livestock, poultry and seafood to increasing greenhouse gasses emissions, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Red meat, dairy and farmed shrimp are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions,” said Healthy Diets For A Healthier Planet. “This is because meat production often requires extensive grasslands which is often created by cutting down trees.”

As a supplement to other meat products, the human consumption of crickets has been suggested by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to offset emissions.

According to the Forum, cricket food production uses about one-eighth of the water and generates one-third of the carbon emissions of a cattle farm.

Since 2018, the Trudeau Liberals have spent $420,023 subsidizing companies that turn crickets into human food.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), the federal government signed eight deals with five companies, excluding Aspire Food Groups, which received $8.5 million through four handouts in recent years.

Although Research and Markets contend the edible insect market will reach $3.5 billion by 2029 and grow 28.6% annually during the same period, CTF does not believe taxpayers should be subsidizing different diets.

"Canadians are struggling as inflation pushes grocery bills, but subsidizing snacks made out of bugs doesn't sound like the right solution for taxpayers," said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF.

"If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to take a bite out of crunchy crickets, he can do it without taking a bite out of taxpayers' wallets," he added.

Lynn Kavanaugh, campaign manager with World Animal Protection of Toronto, testified last October 26 at the Commons agriculture committee that her group encourages Canadians to eat less meat. “There is global evidence,” said Kavanaugh. “We are not alone at this point.”

“We are simply echoing and supporting what the huge body of evidence is saying about emissions from animal agriculture and the need to reduce the amount of animal agriculture that is produced in Canada and globally to help meet our climate target,” testified Kavanaugh.

“We know the goal of your association is to end animal agriculture,” said Conservative MP John Barlow. “Our goal is not to end animal agriculture,” replied Kavanaugh.

“We do promote less meat and dairy consumption for climate, more sustainable food production and biodiversity protection, but we do not advocate a vegan diet,” replied Kavanaugh. “That’s number one.”

Alex Dhaliwal

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