Spain’s Dietary Recommendations: Less Meat, More Legumes

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The recently released dietary recommendations for the Spanish people consider health, sustainability, and the environmental impact of food. These recommendations were developed by the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN). Although the recommendations do not eliminate animal foods, they call for a limited use of meat and greater use of plant foods. The recommendations call for consuming at least 3 servings daily of vegetables, 2-3 servings of fruits, and 3-6 servings of grains. Legumes should be eaten 4-7 times a week and nuts 3-7 times a week. Meat should be eaten no more than 3 times a week with minimal consumption of processed meat. Eggs are limited to 4 per week. Fish can be eaten 3 or more times per week with emphasis on fish with lower environmental impact. The recommendations call for eating 3 servings per day of dairy products but, due to the environmental impact of dairy products, “it is suggested to reduce the number of daily servings of dairy products if other foods of animal origin are consumed.”

The members of the 2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee have been selected. Their task is to review the body of nutrition research and to develop a scientific report that includes the Committee’s advice for HHS and USDA to consider. This advice, along with public comments, will help HHS and USDA as they develop the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030.

Perhaps the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, HHS, and USDA can learn from Spain’s dietary recommendations and revise the U.S. Dietary Guidelines to include less meat and more legumes.

Reference:

Comité Cientifico AESAN. Informe del Comité Cientifico de la Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimientaria y Nutrición (AESAN) sobre recomendaciones dietéticas sostenibles y recomendaciones de actividad fisica para la población Española.

https://www.aesan.gob.es/AECOSAN/docs/documentos/seguridad_alimentaria/evaluacion_riesgos/informes_comite/INFORME_RECOMENDACIONES_DIETETICAS.pdf 2022

To read more about dietary guidelines see:

Do International Dietary Guidelines Promote Vegan/Vegetarian Diets?

The Dietary Pattern in Dietary Guidelines for Americans Could Easily be Made Vegan and Nutritionally Adequate

2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Released

The Vegetarian Resource Group Testimony on the Dietary Guidelines

The Vegetarian Resource Group Sends in Testimony Regarding the 2020 Dietary Guidelines