Environmental Impact Won’t Be Part of Dietary Guidelines, Officials Say

Burwell and Vilsack wrapped their decision in a legalistic mantle, saying that the “policy conversation about sustainability” is outside the statutory “scope” of the dietary guidelines. “The elements of heathy eating patterns continue to include fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein-rich foods such as lean meats and seafood, and limit components like saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium”.

The quality of the evidence supporting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the influential nutritional advice from the federal government, came under steady attack at a Congressional hearing Wednesday, with representatives complaining that the credibility of the national advice has been eroded by shifts in science.

The timing of the announcement, though, tells us plenty about why Vilsack and Burwell chose to ignore an expert panel that their agencies have traditionally listened closely to when drafting their pyramid- and plate-themed guidelines. The guidelines would update a 2010 version and be used to govern food choices in federal programs such as school lunches and food stamps.

“Many of the recommendations in the dietary guidelines are not based on conclusive science”, Krauss said.

Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) raised the possibility that the guidelines, which the government has published since 1980, might be rated a failure, given the nation’s high rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic health problems.

House Ag Committee Chairman Mike Conaway agrees with Wilkinson and joins many other lawmakers that oppose the recommendations.

While the new info won’t be on the forthcoming U.S. Dietary Guidelines menu, neither will the issue of food sustainability, as the food industry has lobbied hard for their own interests, according to a Fortune report.

Both agencies stressed that sustainability is an important issue.

Instead of recommending a diet strictly based on nutritional value, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee had recommended in February that environmental sustainability should be a factor, therefore, Americans eat less meat and more plants.

Among the more prominent opponents of the sustainability components are the John and Laura Arnold Foundation, the offspring of a billionaire former Enron natural gas trader who also funds campaigns against public employee pensions, as we reported in August.

Not every member of the panel agreed. “People may be losing confidence in the guidelines”, Peterson warned.

A few Democrats on the committee were no better versed on the science at issue than the Republicans.

Today’s hearing comes as Politico described the creation of a new coalition aimed at discrediting the process behind the creation of the Guidelines. Interventions to reduce screen time and increase physical activity in children and adults would be disrupted. “The theater of the absurd orchestrated today by the House Agriculture Committee shows how clueless many Members are about nutrition generally, and about the Dietary Guidelines specifically”.

Vilsack repeatedly emphasized the difficulty of making recommendations when the science sometimes provides only hunches, not proof about the best diet. “And in the case of our understanding of blood cholesterol versus dietary cholesterol, there has been an evolution in understanding of the difference of those and what they cause”, she said.