Message from Norman Rosenblum, INMD Scientific Director
March 2022

March marks Nutrition Month in Canada. This year, the focus is around “Ingredients for a Healthier Tomorrow,” which highlights the key “ingredients” needed to change our food systems for a healthier tomorrow. These ingredients will take the form of actions that can improve an individual’s health, in addition to systemic changes that can be made, not just for today, but for the future.  Dietitians and organizations across Canada are addressing topics such as food literacy, sustainable food choices, nutrition care and prevention, food security, food sovereignty and food justice.

Household food insecurity – the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints – is a serious public health problem affecting 1 in 8 households in Canada in 2017-18. It negatively impacts physical, mental, and social health, and the Canadian healthcare system.  Food security is also impacted by climate change.  The state of knowledge on climate change and health was thoroughly assessed in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (AR5).Footnote 1 The Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits Chapter in the report concluded that climate change had already increased the burden of disease worldwide.  The report highlights future projections of major global health risks including decreased food security increasing undernutrition, particularly in low resource settings; and ecosystem changes altering vector-borne, foodborne, and waterborne diseases.Footnote 2

INMD has funded important research that will continue to inform elements of effective policy responses to address household food insecurity in Canada, focusing on the centrality of income security.  In addition, INMD is funding new research related to food security and climate change. Food Security and Climate Change in the Canadian North Team Grants will support Indigenous-led and community-driven projects aimed at developing a deeper understanding of food security and climate change in the Canadian North.

On a global scale, the challenge of food insecurity has been amplified by the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges will likely have long-lasting impacts and threaten to exacerbate health inequities, both within Canada and globally, and provides much food for thought as we mark Nutrition Month.

Norman Rosenblum, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS
Scientific Director
CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes

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