The guide also emphasizes choosing protein foods from plants "more often", and encourages eating a variety of foods each day.
This push towards plant-based proteins concerned sectors like dairy and beef, which have not been excluded in the Food Guide, but no longer have their own food group.
Dr. Hutchinson says they didn't want input from industry on their revisions, and have based the recommendations on scientific evidence.
"We felt very strongly about that because in the last Food Guide, from 2007, there was a fair amount of criticism about the influence of industry, and we think to make sure we keep the confidence of Canadians, health professionals and other stakeholders, it was necessary to stay quite strict on that."
Health Canada says the best available evidence was considered such as scientific reports on food and health from respected authorities including systematic reviews on over 100 food-related topics, as well as over 400 convincing conclusions.
Source : Steinbachonline