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Canadians are a pretty obedient bunch when it comes to eating what the government says we should be eating.

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The Canada Food Guide is one of the government’s most popular documents, downloaded more than 230,000 times with more than 1.7 million print copies. It shapes countless school lunches and hospital menus, and remains the go-to guide for many doctors, dietitians and institutions.

But the food guide is also widely criticized as outdated, confusing, soft on ultra-processed foods and unduly influenced by food industry groups.

And its classification system, which equates fruit juice with real fruit, deli meat with chicken breast, and whole grains with sugary cereal? Nonsensical, say some experts.

It’s not an easy task to come up with a document in an easy-to-understand, eye-catching format that captures the essence of what we should be eating, considering Canadians’ various health needs, special diets and demographics.