by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
Dietary Guidelines for Americans is a document that is produced every 5 years and serves as a statement of current federal policy on the role of dietary factors in health promotion and disease prevention. It is used as the foundation for federal nutrition education materials, by schools, the food industry, and many others. During the process of updating the Dietary Guidelines, the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) appoint a committee of scientists to review current scientific evidence related to diet and to create an extensive scientific report. This report is used to inform the Dietary Guidelines which are written by the staff of the USDA and DHHS.
The scientific report which will be the basis for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans was submitted to the Secretaries of USDA and DHHS in December 2024. Written comments to DHHS and USDA on the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will be accepted until February 10, 2025. These comments, along with input from federal agencies and the report itself will be used to develop the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines.
The scientific report has some positive recommendations. It recommends that Americans eat more beans, peas, and lentils and eat less red and processed meat. It recommends that Beans, Peas, and Lentils move from a subgroup of the Vegetables Food Group to a subgroup of the Protein Food Group. When listing foods in the Protein Food Group, Beans/Peas/Lentils should be listed first, followed by Nuts/Seeds/Soy products, then Seafood, and lastly Meats/Poultry/Eggs.
The Committee proposed a new dietary pattern, tentatively titled Eat Healthy Your Way. Compared to the Healthy U.S.-Style dietary pattern in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines, the new pattern calls for an increase of from 0 to 1 cup more of Beans/Peas/Lentils per week, depending on an individual’s calorie level. The new pattern calls for intakes of Meat/Poultry/Eggs to either remain unchanged or decrease by as much as 4 ounces per week [1 egg is equivalent to 1 ounce of meat or poultry]. For example, the recommendation for those needing 2,200 calories per day would be 3 cups of Beans/Peas/Lentils per week compared to the earlier recommendation of 2 cups per week. The recommended number of ounces of Meat/Poultry/Eggs would be 24-1/2 ounces per week as compared to the earlier recommendation of 28 ounces per week.
I’d argue that there should be no recommendation suggesting that people should eat meat/poultry/eggs; but, as a small step, it is encouraging to see some suggestion to Americans that they should be eating more plant sources of protein and less meat.
The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report is an extensive document with a number of lengthy reports accompanying it that provide supplementary information. We’ll be describing more of its content in the coming weeks. Additionally, The Vegetarian Resource Group will submit input on the Scientific Report.
To read more about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans see:
VRG Testimony on 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines
What Have the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Said About Vegan and Vegetarian Diets?
2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Released
VRG’s testimony about the 2020 Dietary Guidelines and the Scientific Report Underlying the 2020 Dietary Guidelines