Overview

Plant-Based Canada, a health professional led non-profit, was founded in 2019, to address the disconnect between the growing body of evidence on plant-based diets for individual health and planetary health, and their limited integration into healthcare, food environments, and public discourse in Canada. Canada, like many high-income countries, faces rising rates of diet-related chronic diseases and escalating healthcare costs. 

Our ambition is to transform health and food systems by promoting evidence-based plant-based nutrition as a cornerstone of disease prevention, health promotion, and planetary and healthcare sustainability. We work to educate healthcare professionals, influence institutional food environments, and empower the public to make informed dietary choices that support both individual and environmental health. We do this through our evidence based annual nutrition conferences (just had our 6th one), podcast (now over 100 episodes), social media outreach, development of resources, invited presentations in healthcare and to the public. Importantly we seek to amplify our impact by collaboration with like-minded individuals and organisations.

Alignment with the EAT-Lancet Commission

Our work fully aligns with the EAT-Lancet Commission by promoting dietary shifts toward predominantly plant-based, whole-food patterns that benefit both human and planetary health. We emphasize reduced consumption of meat, increased intake of legumes, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and the broader transformation of food systems.

We track progress through indicators such as:

• Attendance at our professional education events

• Growth in social media and podcast reach (>100 episodes listened to in >65 countries, >50,000 downloads)

• Participant feedback and reported dietary changes

• Institutional and organisational collaborations to improve food offerings in healthcare settings

• Increasing number of invited presentations to public+healthcare

Key actors

• Healthcare professionals - who deliver evidence-based plant-based nutrition education and advocacy.

• Patients and the public - Individuals seeking to prevent or manage chronic disease and support planetary health through dietary change.

• Academic and research collaborators working to implement healthier, more sustainable food environments.

• Policy and advocacy partners – Organizations aligned with promoting plant-based diets e.g. Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care

• Volunteers and community leaders – Key in expanding our reach

For more information please contact: Dr. Zahra Kassam and Dr. Stephanie Nishi at snishi@torontomu.ca