Dear Secretaries Burwell and Vilsack:
The following organizations and individuals urge you to adopt the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's recommendations on sustainability, which found:
"a diet higher in plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and lower in calories and animal-based foods is more health promoting and is associated with less environmental impact than is the current U.S. diet...
"Current evidence shows that the average U.S. diet has a larger environmental impact in terms of increased greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and energy use..."
The Committee concluded that "linking health, dietary guidance, and the environment will promote human health and the sustainability of natural resources and ensure current and long-term food security."
As Americans, we rely on our government to provide accurate, science-based information, that promotes the health of our families and our environment.
The undersigned support the sustainability recommendations in the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, calling for less meat and more plants in our diets for the sake of our health and that of the planet.
See letter and all who signed here.
In an amazing show of solidarity; environmental, health care, sustainable food, public health groups and activists have come together to support the sustainability recommendations in the
Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, calling for less meat and more plants in our diets for the sake of our health and the health of our planet.
They announced their solidarity in a splashy, full page ad in the New York Times yesterday. It was addressed to the Heads of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was timed to coincide with the Public Meeting for Oral Testimony on the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. A video of meeting is available here, but be advised it is over 4 hours long!
This cooperation represents a real paradigm shift in support for the fastest and most effective solution to a rapid cooling to reduce the worst effects of climate change. I've been writing about the connection between climate change and livestock production for over eight years and up until just a few months ago I couldn't envision how we could assemble the many voices and interests calling for reduced meat consumption into a coherent whole.
The question now is: Will Secretaries Burwell and Vilsack wimp out, to please the meat industry? The meat industry is one of the most powerful lobby groups in US and they are flipping out over this recommendation, will the USDA and HHS cave?
The importance of the Dietary Guidelines can't be overstated. They influence federal purchasing for school lunch programs, military, hospitals and many others.