Sustainability Rejected in U.S. Diet Guidelines. Meat Approved?

October 27, 2015

Ariela Yomtovian has a new blog on the sustainability recommendations to the 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Here’s a snippet from the blog (which can be read in its entirety here):

The decision by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) not to include recommendations on sustainability – and more sustainable ways of eating (i.e., less meat, more plants) – in the new revision of the U.S. dietary guidelines can be seen as an obvious victory for the U.S. meat industry. Here’s an example of some of the language you won’t see in the diet guidelines: “…a diet higher in plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and lower in calories and animal-based foods is more health promoting and is associated with less environmental impact than is the current U.S. diet…”

But the outcome can also, taking a longer-term view, be seen as a more subtle victory for environmental and public health advocates.
Continue reading this blog entry here.