One-third of Canadians consider environmental impact of their food

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A Dalhousie University study says more than a third of Canadians regularly take into consideration the environmental impact of their dietary choices.

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A total of 37.6% of Canadians often or always consider the environmental impact of their food choices according to the survey while 29.4% rarely or never do so.

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In Ontario specifically, 36.5% of the respondents considered the environmental impact of food choices, the third highest of all the provinces. (Quebec was the highest at 48.1% and Saskatchewan was the lowest at 26.4%.)

“We were intrigued to find that while Quebec leads in considering the environmental impact of food choices during hot weather, Saskatchewan lags behind,” said Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Lab Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, in a statement.

“Our study highlights the growing importance of climate-conscious eating habits and raises awareness about the need for sustainable practices in the agri-food sector. However, results show that as Canadians witness the effects of climate change on food availability, most remain confident about the future.”

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The survey, by Caddle and the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, also found 61% of Canadians believe climate change is impacting Canada’s ability to produce food, while 14.9% think otherwise, and 25.1% have some belief that it does.

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The poll also found 47.1% expressed concern about food availability being affected by climate change while 22.2% showed no concern at all.

A total of 40.1% of Canadians said they’ve already noticed changes in the availability or variety of certain foods during the summer in recent years, while 32.9% said no and 27% claim they are not sure.

A total of 60.3% also believe we will continue to have access to the same foods regardless of weather changes and patterns.

The survey of was conducted in July 2023 with a total of 5,450 Canadians with a margin of error: +/- 1.2%, 19 times out of 20.