A US physicians’ group advocating for plant-based diets has sued the country's government over the new dietary guideline recommendations.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine alleges the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans were shaped by a “secret panel of food-industry insiders”.
In a lawsuit, the group said the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
When the guidelines, designed to “Make America Healthy Again”, were released in January this year, they were welcomed in some quarters for urging consumers to cut highly processed foods and added sugars.
However, the depiction of an inverted pyramid with protein, dairy and healthy fats at the top – along with fruit and vegetables – drew criticism for promoting animal meat, which has been linked with heart disease.
The Washington-based Physicians Committee had petitioned HHS and USDA in January to remove the guidelines, alleging “unlawful industry influence”.
The new lawsuit argues the agencies departed from the formal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) process and instead used a “hastily assembled” nine-member panel, the make-up of which was disclosed only on the day the guidelines were published.
According to the complaint, eight of the nine panel members had ties to groups including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Dairy Council, the American Egg Board, the National Pork Board and the low-carbohydrate diet industry.
Physicians Committee president Neal Barnard said: “The government allowed the meat and dairy industries to ghostwrite the Dietary Guidelines. They put money in industry’s pocket and cholesterol in Americans’ arteries.”
The group said the move overrode recommendations made in December 2024 by the DGAC’s 20 nutrition experts, who had backed more plant-based meals, prioritising beans and other plant proteins over animal protein, and choosing water rather than milk.
The dietary guidelines also faced criticism from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which said in January that advice to emphasise animal protein, butter and full-fat dairy was “at best, confusing, and, at worst, harmful”.
The lawsuit asks the court to withdraw the guidelines and prevent HHS and USDA from using them in future decisions while a new version is developed.
Just Food has approached HHS and USDA for comment.
