In the US of A, the military community shook its collective fist when it learned that the Navy was taking fried food off the menu. Up north, however, the Canadian Navy has continued to generously provide canned, deep fried food to its hardworking servicemen.

It stinks that American sailors have to settle for skim milk and baked chicken instead of scrumptious transfat, but at least they aren’t literally getting fat on the job.

One 47 year-old Canadian veteran, who has remained unnamed by the media, successfully argued that his chronic high blood pressure and obesity was caused by the Canadian Navy food he ate during his 26 years of service. He is now entitled to disability benefits, which can at most grant him $1,992 USD per month if he is single and $3,000 USD if he is married with children.

According to the sailor’s case, he grew up eating lean foods harvested from the land, like wild game and garden crops. After he enlisted in the Navy, the veteran only ate food that “was deep-fried or was grilled in oil” due to a shortage of fresh food while at sea.

Through his 26-year military career, the veteran grew from 160 pounds to 300 pounds thanks to fatty Navy food. He suffered various injuries due to his weight gain, specifically from one incident where he fell from a shipboard ladder. The veteran argues that since obesity causes hypertension, he was more at risk for heart disease and strokes.

Ultimately, the Canadian VA agreed with him and granted him disability benefits.

Niall Buckley, the physician who helped the veteran make his case, said that he doesn’t believe this is a Navy-only issue.

“I don’t think the food aboard the ships is any different than the food in the average kitchen in Nova Scotia,” Buckley said. “It’s the same processed rubbish that most everyone is eating. The only thing unique about him is that he was on a different diet altogether before he went into the military.”