Several agricultural commodity groups including the Beef Information Centre, in partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, wished to have a definitive reading on the extent to which Canadians include or exclude certain food categories in their diets. The data was collected by way of the Canadian Facts syndicated panel sweep in July 1998. The results are based on a total of 16,251 returned questionnaires. This is a very substantial number compared to most Canadian polls and surveys, which are often based on 1,000 people. The results are very encouraging in that few Canadians eliminate food groups or food categories from their diet. In fact, 97.3% of the respondents include meat. It is evident that vegetarianism is not a growing trend since these findings are similar to results from other studies over the past ten years. However, the study also indicates that young women, ages 15-25, are the group who most often eliminate meat from their diet. While vegetarian diets can be healthy if they are planned appropriately, some new vegetarians simply exclude animal products without realizing the nutritional risks. For example, in another study of 122 young vegetarian women, deficiencies of energy, protein, iron, zinc and calcium were found ( Journal of Adolescent Health 1996 Issue 18 ). Meat is rich in protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B6 and B12 and the body better absorbs iron and the zinc in meat than that found in plant foods.
This article originally appeared in the Copyright © 1999, Beef Information Centre Report.
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