Empowering the citizen-consumer: Re-regulating consumer information to support the transition to sustainable and health promoting food systems in Canada

Sustainability

Volumn 4, Issue 9, 2012, Pages 2146-2175

  MacRae, Rod ^a   Szabo, Michelle ^a   Anderson, Kalli ^b   Louden, Fiona ^a   Trillo, Sandi ^a  

^a YORK UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b Humber College   (Canada)

Author keywords

Citizen consumers; Food information; Health promotion; Sustainable food systems

Indexed keywords

EID: 84872375483     PISSN: 20711050     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3390/su4092146     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Toronto Food Policy Council. Making Consumers Sovereign; Discussion Paper #9; Toronto Food Policy Council: Toronto, Canada, 1998.
2. MacRae, R.J. A joined up food policy for Canada. J. Hunger Environ Nutr 2011, 6, 424-457.
3. Tencer, D. Canada Budget 2012: CFIA cuts mean food labelling lies will have to be policed by consumers. Huffington Post, 30 March 2012.
4. U.S. Surgeon General. The Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health; DHHS (PHS) Publication No. 88-50210; U.S. Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General: Washington, DC, USA, 1988.
5. Environmental Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture: Agri-Environmental Indicator Report Series; Report No. 3; Eilers, W., MacKay, R., Graham, L., Lefebvre, A., Eds.; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 2010.
6. Lynch, D.H.; MacRae, R.J.; Martin, R.C. The Carbon and Global Warming Potential impacts of organic farming: Does it have a significant role in an energy constrained world? Sustainability 2011, 3, 322-362.
7. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Agrienvironmental Performance in OECD Countries since 2008: Canada Country Report; OECD: Paris, France, 2008.
8. Tegtmeier, E.M.; Duffy, M.D. External costs of agricultural production in the United States. Int. J. Agric. Sustain. 2004, 2, 1-20.
9. Norwegian Department of Agriculture. On Norwegian Nutrition and Food Policy; Report #32 to the Storting; Norwegian Department of Agriculture: Oslo, Norway, 1975; p. 72.
10. Van Amstel, M.; de Brauw, C.; Driessen, P.; Glasbergen, P. The reliability of product-specific eco-labels as an agrobiodiversity management instrument. Biodivers. Conserv. 2007, 16, 4109-4129.
11. Koc, M.; MacRae, R.J.; Desjardins, E.; Roberts, W. Getting civil about food: The interactions between civil society and the state to advance sustainable food systems in Canada. J. Hunger Environ. Nutr. 2008, 3, 122-144.
12. Victor, P. Managing without Growth: Slower by Design, not Disaster; Edward Elgar: Northampton, MA, USA, 2008.
13. Busch, L. Performing the economy, performing science: From neoclassical to supply chain models in the agrifood sector. Econ. Soc. 2007, 36, 437-466.
14. Howard, P.H.; Allen, P. Beyond organic: Consumer interest in new labeling schemes in the central coast of California. Int. J. Consum. Stud. 2006, 30, doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2006. 00536.x.
15. Gunningham, N. Reconfiguring Environmental Regulation. In Designing Government: From Instruments to Governance; Eliadis, P., Hill, M., Howlett, M, Eds.; McGill Queen's University Press: Montreal, QC, Canada, 2005; pp. 333-352.
16. Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising; CFIA: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 2007.
17. Ostry, A. Nutrition Policy in Canada, 1870-1939; UBC Press: Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2006.
18. Blay-Palmer, A. Food Fears: From Industrial to Sustainable Food Systems; Ashgate: Burlington, VT, USA, 2008.
19. Welsh, J.; MacRae, R.J. Food citizenship and community food security: Lessons from Toronto, Canada. Can. J. Dev. Stud. 1998, 19, 237-255.
20. Gabriel, Y.; Lang, T. A Brief History of Consumer Activism. In The Ethical Consumer; Harrison, R., Newholm, T., Shaw, D., Eds.; Sage: London, UK, 2005; doi:10.4135/9781446211991.
21. The Ethical Consumer; Harrison, R., Newholm, T., Shaw, D., Eds.; SAGE: London, UK, 2005.
22. Micheletti, M. Political Virtue and Shopping: Individuals, Consumerism, and Collective Action, 1st ed.; Palgrave Macmillan: New York, NY, USA, 2003.
23. Johnston, J. The citizen-consumer hybrid: Ideological tensions and the case of Whole Foods Market. Theory Soc. 2008, 37, 229-270.
24. Lockie, S. Responsibility and agency within alternative food networks: Assembling the "citizen consumer". Agric. Hum. Values 2009, 26, doi:10.1007/s10460-008-9155-8.
25. Dickinson, R.; Carsky, M.L. The Consumer as Economic Voter. In The Ethical Consumer; Harrison, R., Newholm, T., Shaw, D., Eds.; Sage: London, UK, 2005; pp. 25-38.
26. Micheletti, M. Why More Women? Issues of Gender and Political Consumerism. In Politics, Products, and Markets: Exploring Political Consumerism Past and Present; Micheletti, M., Follesdal, A., Stolle, D., Eds.; Transaction: Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2004; pp. 245-264.
27. Frank, R. In the real world of work and wages, trickle-down theories don't hold up. The New York Times, 12 April 2007. Available online: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/business/ 12scene.html?_r=1 (accessed on 14 June 2012).
28. Stolle, D.; Hooghe, M. Consumers as Political Participants? Shifts in Political Action Repertoires in Western Societies. In Politics, Products, and Markets: Exploring Political Consumerism Past and Present; Micheletti, M., Follesdal, A., Stolle D., Eds.; Transaction: Piscataway, NJ, 2004; pp. 265-288.
29. Jacobsen, E.; Dulsrud, A. Will consumers save the world? The framing of political consumerism. J. Agric. Environ. Ethics 2007, 20, 469-482.
30. Soper, K. Rethinking the 'Good Life': The citizenship dimension of consumer disaffection with consumerism. J. Consum. Cult. 2007, 7, 205-229.
31. Friedman, H.; McMichael, P. Agriculture and the state system: The rise and fall of national agricultures, 1870 to the present. Sociol. Rural. 1989, 19, 93-117.
32. MacRae, R.J. This Thing Called Food: Policy Failure in the Canadian Food and Agriculture System. In For Hunger-Proof Cities: Sustainable Urban Food Systems; Koc, M., MacRae, R.J., Meugeot, L., Welsh, J., Eds.; International Development Research Centre and the Ryerson Centre for Studies in Food Security: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1999; pp. 182-194.
33. Hill, S.B.; MacRae, R.J. Conceptual framework for the transition from conventional to sustainable agriculture. J. Sustain. Agric. 1995, 7, 81-87.
34. Blas, E.; Gilson, L.; Kelly, M.P.; Labonté, R.; Lapitan, J.; Muntaner, C.; Ostlin, P.; Popay, J.; Sadana, R.; Sen, G.; et al. Addressing social determinants of health inequities: What can the state and civil society do? Lancet 2008, 372, 1684-1689.
35. Altieri, M.A. Agroecology: The Science of Sustainable Agriculture; Westview Press: Boulder, CO, USA, 1995.
36. Agroecology: Researching the Ecological Basis for Sustainable Agriculture; Gliessman, S.R., Ed.; Ecological Studies Series no. 78; Springer-Verlag: New York, NY, USA, 1990.
37. Howlett, M. What is a Policy Instrument? Policy Tools, Policy Mixes and Policy Styles. In Designing Government: From Instruments to Governance; Eliadis, P., Hill, M., Howlett, M., Eds.; McGill Queen's University Press: Montreal, QC, Canada, 2005; pp. 31-50.
38. Health Canada website. Food and Nutrition: Nutrition Labeling. Available online: http://www.hcsc. gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/nutrition/index-eng.php (accessed on 6 September 2012).
39. CBC news online. 9 May 2007. Food Labels: The Facts about what's in Your Food. Available online: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/food-supply/index.html (accessed on 6 September 2012).
40. Health Canada. Food and nutrition: FAQs about nutrition labeling. Available online: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/nutrition/educat/te_quest-eng.php#1 (accessed on 6 September 2012).
41. Light, L.; Tenney, J.; Portnoy, B.; Kessler, L.; Rodgers, A.B.; Patterson, B.; Mathews, O.; Katz, E.; Blair, J.E.; Evans, S.K.; et al. Eat for health: A nutrition and cancer control supermarket intervention. Public Health Rep. 1989, 104, 443-450.
42. Louden, F.N.; MacRae, R.J. Federal regulation of local and sustainable food claims in Canada: A case study of Local Food Plus. Agric. Hum. Values 2010, 27, 177-188.
43. Singer, B.D. Advertising and Society; Addison-Wesley: Don Mills, ON, Canada, 1986.
44. Wallack, L.; Montgomery, K. Advertising for all by the year 2000: Public health implications for less developed countries. J. Public Health Policy 1992, 13, 204-223.
45. McQuaig, L. Behind Closed Doors: How the Rich Won Control of Canada's Tax System-And Ended Up Richer; Viking Press: Markham, ON, Canada, 1987.
46. Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada. Guide for Food Manufacturers and Advertisers, Revised Edition; Consumer Products Branch, Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1988.
47. Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising; CFIA: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1998; p. 1.4.1.
48. Taras, H.L.; Sallis, J.F.; Patterson, T.L.; Nader, P.R.; Nelson, J.A. Television's influence on children's diet and physical activity. Dev. Behav. Paediatr. 1989, 10, 176-180.
49. Engelhard, G.; Garson, A.; Dorn, S. Reducing Obesity: Policy Strategies from the Tobacco Wars; University of Virginia and Urban Institute: Washington, USA, 2009; p. 41. Available online: http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/411926_reducing_obesity.pdf (accessed on 19 June 2012).
50. Zorc, A. Nutrition experts divided over trans fats. Community Nutr. Inst. 1996, 26, 4-5.
51. Anonymous. The Netherlands reduces trans fatty acids in foods. Nutr. Week 1995, 25, 3.
52. Science Council of Canada. Canadian Food and Agriculture: Sustainability and Self-Reliance; Science Council of Canada: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1979.
53. NHS Choices. Available online: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/food-labelling.aspx#Nut (accessed on 6 September 2012).
54. Gerrior, S.A. Nutrient profiling systems: Are science and the consumer connected? Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2010, 91, 1116S-1117S.
55. Guiding Stars. Available online: http://guidingstars.ca/about/how-it-works/ (accessed on 6 September 2012).
56. Sutherland, L.A.; Kaely, L.A.; Fischer, L. Guiding Stars: the effect of a nutrition navigation program on consumer purchases at the supermarket. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2010, 91, 1090S-1094S.
57. Canadian Organic Growers. Local and Regional Food Economies in Canada: Status Report; Report to Agriculture and Agrifood Canada; Agriculture and Agrifood Canada: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 2007.
58. Bendavid-Val, A. Regional and Local Economic Analysis for Practitioners, 4th ed.; Praeger: New York, NY, USA, 1991.
59. Planting the Future: Developing Agriculture that Sustains Land and Community; Bird, E., Bultena, G.L., Gardner, J.C., Eds.; Iowa State University Press: Ames, IA, USA, 1995.
60. Lasley, P.; Hoiberg, E.; Bultena, G. Is sustainable agriculture an elixir for rural communities? Am. J. Altern. Agric. 1993, 8,133-139.
61. Haliwell, B. Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market; WorldWatch Institute Paper 163; WorldWatch Institute: Washington, DC, USA, 2002.
62. MacRae, R.J.; Lynch, D.; Martin, R.C. Improving the energy efficiency and GHG mitigation potentials of organic farming and food systems in Canada. J. Sustain. Agric. 2010, 34, 549-580.
63. Allen, P.; FitzSimmons, M.; Goodman, M.; Warner, K. Shifting plates in the agrifood landscape: The tectonics of alternative agrifood initiatives in California. J. Rural Stud. 2003, 19, 61-75.
64. Selfa, T.; Qazi, J. Place, taste, or face-to-face? Understanding producer-consumer networks in "local" food systems in Washington State. Agric. Hum. Values 2005, 22, 451-464.
65. Kloppenburg, J.; Stevenson, G.W.; Hendrickson, J. Coming into the foodshed. Agric. Hum. Values 1996, 13, 33-42.
66. Hinrichs, C.C. The practice and politics of food system localization. J. Rural Stud. 2003, 19, 33-45.
67. Hendrickson, M.K.; Heffernan, W.D. Opening spaces through relocalization: Locating potential resistance in the weakness of the global food system. Sociol. Rural. 2002, 42, 347-369.
68. Pirog, R.; van Pelt, T.; Enshayan, K.; Cook, E. Food, Fuel, and Freeways: An Iowa Perspective on How Far Food Travels, Fuel Usage, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Iowa State University, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture: Ames, IA, USA, 2001.
69. Bentley, S. Fighting Global Warming at the Farmers' Market; Foodshare Toronto: Toronto, ON, Canada, 2004.
70. CBC News. 'Made in Canada' rules under review. CBC News Online, 22 May 2010. Available online: http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2010/05/21/made-in-canada.html (accessed on 18 June 2012).
71. This labeling policy was introduced after the creation of the 2003 Guide to Food Labeling and Advertising; therefore, it is not within the guide, but can be found within the CFIA "Information Bulletins" available online: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/retdet/bulletins/ bulletinse.shtml (accessed on 20 June 2012).
72. Barham, E. Towards a theory of value-based labeling. Agric. Hum. Values 2002, 19, 349-360.
73. Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Guidelines on Natural, Naturally Raised, Feed, Antibiotic and Hormone Claims. Available online: http://inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/ natall/natalle.shtml (accessed on 20 June 2012).
74. Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Consultation Paper on Humane and Natural Livestock Production; CFIA: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 2005.
75. Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC). Agriculture in Harmony with Nature: AAFC's Sustainable Development Strategy 2001-2004; Minister of Public Works and Government Services: Ottawa, ON, Canada, 2001.
76. Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB). Organic Production Systems: General Principles and Management Standards; CAN/CGSB-32.310-2006; CGSB: Gatineau, QC, Canada, 2006.
77. LivestockWelfare.com. Available online: http://www.livestockwelfare.com/codes.htm (accessed on 1 August 2012).
78. King, F.H. Farmers of Forty Centuries: Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea and Japan; Rodale Press: Emmaus, PA, USA, 1990.
79. Howard, A. An Agricultural Testament; Oxford University Press: London, UK, 1943.
80. Howard, A. The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture; Devin-Adair: New York, NY, USA, 1947.
81. MacRae, R.J.; Hill, S.B.; Henning, J.; Bentley, A.J. Policies, programs and regulations to support the transition to sustainable agriculture in Canada. Am. J. Altern. Agric. 1990, 5, 76-92.
82. Wojtkowski, P. Introduction to Agroecology: Principles and Practice; Hawthorn Press: Binghamton, NY, USA, 2006.
83. Warner, K.D. Agroecology in Action: Extending Alternative Agriculture through Social Networks; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2007.
84. SARD and FAO. Available online: http://www.fao.org/SARD/en/sard/2001/index.html (accessed on 6 September 2012).
85. Sustain UK. Pictorial Representations for Sustainability Scoring; Discussion paper; Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming: London, UK, June 2007. Available online: http://www.sustainweb.org/pdf/sustainability_labelling_flowers.pdf (accessed on 6 September 2012).