2025 USDA Dietary Guidelines go from Being Pro-Vegetable to Anti-Meat
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🥩 Hello Meatlings,
2025 is the year we are anticipating the official reveal of the new USDA dietary guidelines, the government’s “science-based advice on what to eat and drink.” Since the first edition of the guidelines in the 1970s, some 13 to 14% of American adults were obese. Two percent of the population had been diagnosed with diabetes.
Now, after nine editions of these pyramid/MyPlate guidelines and new one coming soon recommended for all Americans, over 40% of American adults are obese, and 8% have been diagnosed with diabetes. Direct medical costs of obesity and diabetes together amount to some $1.4 billion every day.
The highly-anticipated scientific report for the 2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines was finally released mid-December by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services (USDA-HHS). The 421-page tome is meant to inform new guidelines due this year, although the task of writing the guidelines policy itself will fall to USDA-HHS political appointees.
Key recommendations in this report include:
Reducing red and processed meats;
Replacing poultry, meat, and eggs with peas, beans, and lentils as sources of protein;
There are no limits on ultra-processed foods; and
Continued caps on saturated fats, to be replaced by vegetable (seed) oils.
The question of whether the expert committee should set limits on ultra-processed foods (UPF) has sparked controversy ever since the group’s final public meeting, when it revealed it couldn’t make a recommendation to restrict these foods, because the evidence on them was “limited.”
This advice does not consider that plant-based proteins are not as complete as those from animals and also not as bioavailable. Plant sources like peas and beans also pack a hefty load of carbohydrates and calories for the same amount of protein, making them a far less healthy option for people with metabolic conditions such as obesity and diabetes who need to be mindful of controlling their blood sugars.
The expert committee also found that reductions in meat, eggs, and poultry would lead to further shortfalls in vitamins D and E, a significant fact given that the existing guidelines already fail to meet goals for vitamins D and E, folate, choline, and iron.
Most importantly, the evidence used to support new and existing guidelines’ recommendations is insufficient and contradictory.
Three major systematic reviews--on obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease list the randomized, controlled clinical trials (RCTs) to support claims that the US Dietary Guidelines can prevent these conditions in adults. These reviews also support the new recommendation for reducing red/processed meats. Yet the clinical trials listed do not support these claims.
The point about the USDA’s methodology is essential. The flawed approach that lumps indulgent foods like sweets and sugary beverages with meats, processed meats, and high-fat dairy creates a skewed narrative. It leads to the oversimplified and circular logic of advocating for “mostly plants,” ignoring the possibility that certain animal-based foods—when consumed responsibly—could benefit health. This methodology effectively prevents any acknowledgment of the potential health benefits of balanced animal products. Instead, it sets the stage for variations of “mostly plants” or even “all plants” to dominate the conversation.
While Mediterranean and Asian populations had low rates of CHD compared with Western populations (hence, high intakes of vegetables, whole grains, and fish; low intakes of red meat, high-fat dairy, etc.), some Western nations also had low rates of CHD (France and Switzerland, for instance), but consumed traditional diets with plenty of red meat and high-fat dairy. Other traditional populations like the cattle herders of Kenya (the Masai), the reindeer herders of Siberia, the Inuit, or the Native Americans of the Great Plains also ate meat- and fat-rich diets. They were, until their diets were westernized, conspicuously healthy.
Current guidelines continue to fail in improving health outcomes, particularly as diet-related chronic diseases continue to rise, it’s critical to reassess them rather than simply reiterate the same advice. Source Source
✌🏻and ribeyes,
Miranda Ebner MS, LN and The Yes2Meat Team
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