Scientists Urge Shift from Red Meat to Plant Protein in US Dietary Guidelines
Scientists advising the US government on its next dietary guidelines are urging a significant reduction in red meat consumption, advocating instead for an increased focus on plant-based proteins.
According to experts, the average American currently consumes approximately 107 pounds of red meat annually, a stark contrast to the EAT-Lancet Commission’s Planetary Health Diet recommendation of just 11 pounds per year.
This high level of red meat consumption, according to researchers, poses environmental and health challenges.
Red meat production is particularly resource-intensive, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, and has been linked to health issues, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
In their draft recommendations, members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee suggest moving away from red and processed meats, which the World Health Organization has classified as carcinogenic.
Instead, they propose a diet emphasizing “vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, fish and seafood, low- and non-fat dairy, and unsaturated fats.”
This would also involve adjusting the current protein food group, shifting peas, beans, and lentils from the vegetable category to the protein category, where they would be prioritized over meat.
As Harvard University’s Deirdre Tobias, a committee member, put it, “Behaviorally, I think there is sort of a branding crisis when it comes to protein – thinking automatically meat.” She believes this reclassification could help counter the misconception that only animal products are high-quality protein sources.
The committee’s proposals have met with significant resistance from the meat industry and some consumers.
Ethan Lane, Vice President of government affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, labeled the meeting “one of the most out-of-touch, impractical, and elitist conversations in the history of this process.”
He further added, “We would laugh at the suggestion that beans, peas, and lentils are going to replace lean red meat and fill all the nutrient gaps Americans are facing if it weren’t such a dangerous and deceptive idea.”
Some consumers have expressed frustration as well, with one person commenting, “They can have my red meat when they pry it from my cold dead fingers dripping in medium rare hamburger juice.”
The committee’s report, once finalized, will be submitted to the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services for consideration.
These departments will open a 60-day public comment period before releasing the official guidelines by the end of 2025.
If adopted, these new guidelines could significantly impact food policies and public health initiatives in the US, following a global trend toward plant-based dietary recommendations that has been adopted in countries like Germany, Austria, and Norway.
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