The food industry and its allies in Congress are trying “to excise sustainability from dietary discussions” out of fear of losing market share or fueling coalitions that could change the American diet, say six public health and sustainability experts. The group, which includes Kathleen Merrigan, former deputy agriculture secretary, writes in the journal Science that politics are the root of attacks on the upcoming edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).
Cattle ranchers are among the most vocal of the critics, who say a federal panel of experts erred by recommending future availability of food should be a factor in dietary advice in the 2015 Guidelines. According to critics, the advisory committee strayed into areas beyond its expertise in nutrition and that are not germane.
“We believe the issue of scope is not the over-arching concern but a political maneuver to excise it from dietary discussions,” the authors write. “Nothing in the 1990 DGA statute prevents inclusion of sustainability, and the (advisory committee) argument that future food insecurity is predictable without attention to sustainability is relevant and compelling.” Brazil, Sweden and the Netherlands have incorporated sustainability into their guidelines.
The recommendations from the panel are similar to previous Dietary Guidelines. “The overall body of evidence … identifies that a healthy dietary pattern is higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meat; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grain,” said the advisory committee’s report in February.
The authors of the Science article said the food industry doesn’t want any foods disparaged, partly out of concern that it could lead to regulation and the perception that some foods are better than others. The sustainability discussion “has potential to forge new political coalitions” that could affect the 2020 guidelines and could prompt some people to change their diets out of concern about sustainability of food supplies.
“The challenge is how to produce the most healthful foods in a way that sustains employment in the agricultural sector and minimizes adverse impacts on the environment,” the authors conclude. “All major constituencies concerned with food security and health must wrestle with sustainability and dietary choices together. It is right and proper for the DGA process to lead the way.”
Lawmakers added language to USDA funding bills in fiscal 2015 to preclude the government from considering sustainability in writing the new edition of the guidelines. In a variety of settings, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said he would follow the law. “I understand we need to color inside the lines and don’t have the luxury of coloring outside the lines,” he told a House Appropriations subcommittee, according to Agri-Pulse. In a Wall Street Journal interview, Vilsack said he read the statute and “our job ultimately is to formulate dietary and nutrition guidelines …. I think it’s my responsibility to follow the law.”
In an interview, Merrigan, now a professor at George Washington University, said the statutory authority for the guidelines does not exclude sustainability in saying they “shall contain nutritional and dietary information and guidelines for the general public.” For some time, the guidelines have linked tips for healthful eating with a recommendation to balance food consumption with physical activity. “I see a very great parallel with where we are now in the sustainability discussion,” said Merrigan.
The Science article was published a week ahead of a House Agriculture Committee hearing to review the development of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans with Vilsack and Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell as witnesses. The Science article grew out of a November 2014 symposium and the first draft was submitted to Science in February, said Merrigan, so publication, while timely, was coincidental.
A co-author of the article, Parke Wilde, of Tufts U, wrote in his U.S. Food Policy blog, “In an era of global climate change, the issue of sustainability is so important to the food system as a whole that policy-makers and the general public will inevitably find themselves considering environmental issues as part of almost any discussion of food choices.” The only question, Wilde wrote, is whether to put the issues into “the same coherent federal guidance document.”
The other authors of the article were Timothy Griffin and Jeanne Goldberg of Tufts, and Kimberly Robien and William Dietz of George Washington.
Neither the USDA nor a spokeswoman for House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway responded to requests for comment on the article.