Nutrition Policy in Canada, 1870-1939

Nutrition Policy in Canada, 1870-1939 examines the beginnings and early evolution of nutrition policy developments, mainly at the federal level, from the late nineteenth century to the beginning of the Second World War. It outlines the development of a national system of food safety and surveillance, the federal government’s early policy focus on infant feeding, and the factors leading to the establishment of a national dietary standard.

Aleck Ostry shows how the medical profession became actively involved in dispensing nutritional advice during the interwar years. As the economy worsened, Canada conducted dietary surveys in an attempt to determine the nutritional status of its citizens. The country also instituted the world’s first modern national dietary standard, and by the eve of the Second World War had developed a national nutrition policy institution, the Canadian Council on Nutrition. Ostry surveys these early developments in the context of changing food security concerns, particularly during the challenging economic times of the 1930s, when, paradoxically, the health status of the population improved dramatically in spite of widespread hardship.

With food security issues often in the headlines, Nutrition Policy in Canada, 1870-1939 tells a timely and relevant story that will resonate not only with scholars but also with policy makers and practitioners in nutrition and community health.