Every five years the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services appoints a committee of ten to fifteen nutrition experts to revamp the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. This has been going on since 1980. The committee writes the guidelines, presents them for public comment, and then the USDA and HHS decide what recommendations should be included. The new set of guidelines won’t be released until later this year, but the committee recommendations have proven to be controversial. For the first time, in addition to the expected exhortation that people need to eat more fruits and veggies, the committee provided an opinion concerning sustainability. The exact wording is that “consistent evidence indicates that, in general, a dietary pattern that is higher in plant-based foods…and lower in animal-based foods is more health promoting and is associated with a lesser environmental impact (GHG emissions and energy, land, and water use) than is the current average U.S. diet.” Given that the Guidelines are put forth by the federal government, they are not a mere admonition against the meat industry, and indeed included two phrases allowing that “lean meats can be part of a healthy dietary pattern,” and that Americans can achieve more sustainable diets “without excluding any food groups.” In other words, be conscious and educated about what you consume and the effect a moderate diet will have on personal health and the health of the planet. The meat industry, as one would expect, had a hissy fit and fought back.
Interestingly, this particular document induced a flurry of public comments, the bulk of which were in support of the Guideline’s original language. The meat industry put forth a petition called “Hands off my Hotdog,” which I thought at first was a joke but it’s not, while Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity delivered a petition that included 150,000 signatures. “Hands off my Hotdog” generated roughly 2,500 signatures. The issue, however, according to the Guidelines, isn’t that no meat should be consumed, but the types and amount of meat consumed by the average American and its impact on the environment should be a consideration. The fact remains that Americans, per capita, eat more meat than any other country in the world except Luxembourg. That the U.S. Dietary Guidelines would attempt to steer people away from products that contain large amounts of saturated fat should be obvious. The Cleveland Clinic recommends that we consume no more than 10-15 grams of saturated fat per day. The American Heart Association says no more than 13 grams, while the USDA tops out at 22 grams. Considering that an 8 ounce steak contains roughly 38 grams of saturated fat, a Burger King bacon cheeseburger contains 22 grams and a McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese has 12 grams of saturated fat, and that a quarter of the population eats fast food every day, it’s no wonder that the nutrition committee decided some statement needed to be made.
Another fact that remains is one addressed by the Guidelines, and is discussed in a 2013 report published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that “there may be no single human activity that has a bigger impact on the planet than the raising of livestock.” Forty percent of the world’s land surface is used for agriculture altogether, whereas thirty percent is used exclusively to raise animals. One third of the world’s fresh water is used to raise livestock. “The highest total of livestock-related greenhouse-gas emissions comes from the developing world, which accounts for 75% of the global emissions from cattle and other ruminants and 56% of the global emissions from poultry and pigs.” None of this means that we must stop eating meat, but it does require that we make the meat industry less abusive and that we at least cut back of the amount of meat we consume. Petr Havlik, the author of the above study, says that what we need is “sustainable intensification.” He says that “our data can allow us to see more clearly where we can work with livestock keepers to improve animal diets [no hormones or antibiotics] so they can produce more protein with better feed while simultaneously reducing emissions.” The study simply demonstrates that meat production will have to change as will meat consumption.
The meat industry, however, will have nothing to do with facts and obvious science-based research. The infantile petition produced by the North American Meat Institute (“Hands off my Hotdog”) asks Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, “to reject these extreme and ill-considered recommendations.” It also refers to the committee members as “elite academics” and “nutrition despots who seek to impose their personal choices on others.” The Guidelines simply state obvious truths and ask that people be more aware of how their diet affects themselves and the planet. That’s hardly a radical proposition. But the meat industry’s lobbying muscle and screaming paid off nonetheless. On October 6, Vilsack and Burwell issued, on the USDA Blog, a retraction that eliminates any discussion of sustainability from the Guidelines. “The final 2015 Guidelines are still being drafted, but because this is a matter of scope, we do not believe that the 2015 DGAs are the appropriate vehicle for this important policy conversation about sustainability.” While I realize that hardly anyone pays attention to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, their stance does affect federal food programs. Janet Riley, a senior vice president of public affairs for the North American Meat Institute, says that “this could [have] had a huge impact on purchasing programs. The federal feeding programs are significantly impacted by the federal dietary guidelines.” Had the Guidelines included discussions of sustainability and the encouragement to eat less meat, millions of school children would have been taught about how to consume meat in a sustainable manner. We lost a subtle but fine opportunity to educate the public.
Recipe of the Week
I’ve printed this recipe before, but it’s more apt this week as I encourage everyone to eat less meat. Black beans and rice together form a complete protein, are versatile and easy to make.
Black Beans
Soak 1 1/2 cups of black beans in cold water over night. Put the beans in a large soup pot and cover with roughly three inches of water. Add 1.5 teaspoons of sugar and 1.5 teaspoons salt (it’s an old wive’s tale that you can’t salt the beans before they’re cooked.) Bring to a boil and then simmer until done, usually 2 to three hours. If the beans aren’t done and the water is getting low, boil more in a kettle and add to the pot. If the beans are cooked but there’s too much water, simply keep cooking until they are the consistency you like. Serve with rice or wrapped up in a flour tortilla.