Will The Dietary Guidelines Consider The Planet? The Fight Is On : The Salt : NPR
▻http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/02/26/389276051/will-the-dietary-guidelines-consider-the-planet-the-fight-is-on
When it comes to eating well, we should consider the health of our bodies and the planet. This was the recommendation coming from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on Feb. 19.
As we reported, after reviewing the science, the panel concluded that a plant-focused diet that’s lower in red meat not only promotes good health, but is also more environmentally sustainable.
Now, we already knew that some politicians opposed the idea of the federal government fusing nutrition advice with environmental concerns.
And even before the report was released, the meat industry was weighing in with its objections, pointing out that a discussion of sustainability was “outside the committee’s charter.”
The ball is now in the court of the Obama administration appointees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services who will oversee the process of writing the new, updated Dietary Guidelines.
So far, they’re keeping their reactions to the report under wraps.
But on Wednesday, on Capitol Hill, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack seemed to allay some of the objectors’ concerns. Sort of.
According to a report from Agri-Pulse, he hinted before a congressional committee that he would play a role in keeping the new Dietary Guidelines tightly focused on nutrition.