Nutrition Policy in Canada, 1870–1939

Arlene Gryfe is a Toronto-based professional nutritionist and home
economist.

Dr. Aleck Ostry, a University of British Columbia research scientist, is
trained as a historian, health services planner, and an epidemiologist,
and has long been interested in the social determinants of health,
especially in Canada.

As nations began to industrialize and acquired the problem of feeding
urbanized populations, privately run systems of food production,
distribution, storage, and sales developed. During the late 19th
century, most governments stepped in to regulate these markets, at first
to ensure economic order, but later to protect human health.

The author divides the history of nutrition policy in Canada into five
main eras, but this book focuses on the first two, from the mid-1870s to
the beginning of World War II. Within the three main themes
(adulteration and food safety, policies on breastfeeding, and
development of a national dietary standard), there are four specific
areas of study: safety of cow’s milk, the increasing role of the
physician in dispensing nutritional advice, the role of industry in
shaping nutrition education and policy, and the changing dietary and
health status of the Canadian population.

These areas are discussed in great detail, with whole chapters devoted
to the above topics, as well as to infant mortality and social reform
prior to World War I, and to mortality from nutrition deficiency
diseases during the Depression. The text is well documented, with almost
10 pages of detailed references provided at the end of the book.

A very thorough index concludes this well-written and accessible book,
which will be of interest to students of Canadian history, nutrition
development, political policy-making, or social and health development.