An advocacy body in the US is calling for the removal of the latest government dietary guidelines because of an alleged conflict of interest.
The Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said it has petitioned the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), claiming “unlawful industry influence”.
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Meat and dairy topped recommendations aimed at consumers in the latest dietary guidelines for 2025-2030 in terms of protein consumption within a new inverted pyramid framework issued by the HHS last week.
Those two industries have been singled out by the Physicians Committee, which said the guidelines “should be withdrawn and reissued due to rampant industry influence”.
Led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the HHS dietary guidelines have already attracted criticism for the promotion of meat due to links with heart disease.
An emphasis on dairy – whole milk and full-fat dairy products – also drew flack because of saturated fats, one of the ‘bad’ fats the new policy aims to reduce consumption of.
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By GlobalData“Eight of the nine authors of the scientific report underlying the new guidelines have received research funding or other compensation from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Texas Beef Council, General Mills, the National Dairy Council, and the National Pork Board, among others,” the Physicians Committee claimed in a statement.
The statement was issued on 8 January, the same day the petition was filed with the Offices of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA.
It continued: “The complaint alleges that in allowing this to happen, the USDA and HHS disregarded the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which mandates that the guidelines ‘will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or any special interest’”.
Dr Neal Barnard, the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, referred to a so-called “cholesterol cartel”, which, he said, has “insidiously manipulated federal diet guidelines, and needs to be thrown out”.
He added: “Industry’s pernicious promotion of beef, pork, milk, and cheese is the reason so many Americans are sick today.”
When the guidelines were published, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said it “appreciates” some elements of the new policy, but it too had concerns.
“Amid this positive advice is harmful guidance to emphasise animal protein, butter, and full-fat dairy, guidance that undermines both the saturated fat limit and the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s science-based advice to emphasise plant-based proteins to reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
“While the meat and dairy industries may be excited about the new food pyramid, the American public should not be; the guidance on protein and fats in this DGA is, at best, confusing, and, at worst, harmful to the one in four Americans who are directly impacted by the DGA through federal nutrition programmes.”
The Physicians Committee shares the concerns around saturated fat associated with meat and dairy products and their risks to raised ‘bad’ cholesterol and heart disease.
Dr Barnard argued in the attack on HHS that “industry meddling” in the guidelines is not new and dates back “decades”.
He said before the 2000 dietary guidelines were issued, the Physicians Committee had sued under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
The suit alleged that six of the 11 Advisory Committee members had financial connections to the meat, dairy or egg industries.
According to the Physicians Committee, a federal court had ruled in favour of its case in terms of violations of those two laws.
“The guidelines need to be rewritten by unbiased authors referencing the latest nutrition research that will actually help keep Americans healthy and fight diabetes, heart disease and obesity,” Dr Barnard concluded.
Speaking last week in response to the new set of guidelines, Dr Barnard said: “The guidelines are right to limit cholesterol-raising saturated ‘bad’ fat but they should spell out where it comes from: dairy products and meat, primarily. And here the guidelines err in promoting meat and dairy products, which are principal drivers of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.”
