A promising update to yesterday’s news about industry flexing its political muscle in attempts to muzzle the latest dietary guidelines.
Food Navigator USA reports that “members of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee uncharacteristically fight back against criticism of its recommendations and ask Congress to drop proposed legislation that would effectively block regulators from acting on many of the committee’s controversial suggestions.”
Highlights:
- “The American Beverage Association complained when the recommendations were released that the committee ‘went beyond its charge… by advocating for public policies such as taxes and restrictions on foods and beverages.”
- “Likewise, the American Meat Institute accused the committee of entering ‘murky waters… well beyond its scope and expertise’ when it suggested plant-based, low-meat diets were more environmentally sustainable than the current U.S. diet.”
- “The committee defended the scientific basis of its recommendations in the letter to legislators, noting that it posed more than 100 questions, which is researched, as appropriate, by systematically reviewing peer-reviewed literature, current reports from federal agencies, and professional health organizations.”
- “Likewise, restricting policy developments to topics of diet and nutrient intake is ‘unduly narrow’ and would cause ‘large areas within the scope of the DGAC’s charge and its important scientific findings and recommendations to be ignored,’ the committee wrote.”
It’s certainly encouraging to see industry’s strong-arm tactics be called out, rather than acquiesced to.
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