Jamie Oliver, Britain's celebrity chef and TV star, has urged Canadian politicians to join an international campaign for mandatory diet education in Canada's schools. Oliver is a best-selling author, too. According to him, time has come for Canadian politicians to tackle the menace of diet-related diseases, which he called “Canada’s number one killer.”

Killer Diet

Oliver told Vancouver Sun that "the biggest killer in your country is diet-related disease. It's not guns, it's not armed robbery. Compulsory food education for every Canadian kid has not been promised and that to me is immoral." On Sunday, Oliver launched a global campaign in Sydney and urged G20 countries to make food education mandatory in all schools. He is spearheading the food campaign in all the G20 countries. Oliver claimed food education will be cheaper in the long term as the mandatory curriculum will teach them how to raise a garden, cook food and learn "about geography, the history, the science, maths behind it all.”

With his campaign directed at government and big corporations, Oliver hopes that one day, "hideous and unhealthy" fizzy caffeine drinks and junk food will be thrown out and will be treated with the same disgust as tobacco, maybe with a proposed 15 percent tax on fizzy drinks and an extra tax on junk food advertising with zero tax on fruit and vegetables. Oliver said it is time for the Canadian government to draw a line in the sand and say we need to support teachers. “When kids come to school with no breakfasts ... when the food in lunch boxes is inappropriate, this is not helping teachers do their jobs,” added Oliver.

Canada’s Problem

In Canada, the issue of healthy food has been in debate as a politically sensitive issue. Some recent images of Rankin Inlet residents scavenging for food in a dump were shocking. The United Nations food envoy also blasted Canada in 2013 for not ensuring healthy food for vulnerable populations, including aboriginals. Oliver de Shutter, UN Special Rapporteur on Food had ticked off the Harper government about the need for a national food strategy to deal with nutritional inequities.

In Australia, launching his global petition, Oliver called on governments to provide food education for every child in every school and slap harsh taxes on those promoting and making junk food. The food advocate announced his plans at his Food Revolution Live show at the Sydney Opera House. He will present the petition to G20 leaders in Turkey. "This is not a Jamie Oliver thing, this is about being Australian, it's about your community, it's about your street, it's about your kids, it's about your future," Oliver told the gathering.

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