Meat associations are not thrilled about potential guidance from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee suggesting substituting animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins including peas, beans and lentils.
While the US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services craft the 2025-30 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is responsible for providing insights and recommendations on the guidelines. In a recent meeting to discuss the guidelines, the committee previewed the content in their upcoming scientific report, including their potential recommendations to the USDA and HHS. In their proposed guidelines, the committee recommended moving peas, beans and lentils from the vegetable group to the protein group. The committee also recommended limiting intake of animal-based proteins.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association completely disagrees with the potential guidance. NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane said, "We would laugh at the suggestion that beans, peas, and lentils are going to replace lean red meat and fill all the nutrient gaps Americans are facing if it weren’t such a dangerous and deceptive idea.”
NCBA Executive Director of Nutrition Science and Registered Dietitian Dr. Shalene McNeill noted that while red meat consumption has declined over the last four decades, chronic disease and obesity are on the rise. McNeill said, "As a registered dietitian and nutrition scientist, I am concerned that basing guidelines on highly academic exercises, hypothetical modeling, and weak science on red meat will not produce relevant or practical guidelines and will not help us achieve healthier diets.”
According to The National News Desk, a DGAC representative said claims from the NCBA are not true. "No recommendations have been made whatsoever on this issue by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee," the spokesperson said. "The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is a non-political, independent board that looks at all research and science, and undergoes an independent process.”
The Montana Stockgrowers Association deems the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's potential guidance as harmful. The association is firmly against substituting animal-based protein for beans, peas and lentils. At their 2024 MidYear meeting, MSGA members passed a comprehensive policy to allow MSGA to advocate for changes including removing the limit of red meat altogether from within the Dietary Guidelines.
While the National Pork Producers Council does not directly oppose the potential guidance, NPPC CEO Bryan Humprheys said in a press release that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee should base its recommendations in sound science to benefit public health. “While pork producers support the Committee’s recommendation to increase protein intake, their recommendation to replace animal proteins will severely compromise the American diet, as plant proteins are not nearly as nutritionally rich.”
NPPC noted that while the committee's recommendation to move beans, peas and lentils into the protein group would increase the recommended amount of protein intake, the shift would be deceptive to the American public, since animal protein has essential nutrients not found in plant proteins. Both NPPC and the NCBA are concerned that the committee's potential guidance would put vulnerable individuals at risk for nutrient gaps.
