Contact: Marshall Matz (202) 789-1212; [email protected] or Marion Watkins (202) 654-4863; [email protected]
“As co-author with Senator George McGovern of the original 1977 ‘Dietary Goals for the United States’ report, I commend the USDA, HHS and its Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee for continuing to focus attention on human nutrition. The Committee’s recently-released report notes the staggering numbers of Americans struggling with obesity and/or preventable chronic diseases.
The science of human nutrition is constantly evolving, making it important to update the U.S. government’s dietary guidelines every five years.
While I agree with much of the report, I believe the Committee exceeded its mandate when it made dietary recommendations based on environmental concerns of “sustainability.” I urge the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to omit those recommendations in issuing their final guidelines. The science of nutrition can be confusing to the average consumer. Integrating environmental considerations into dietary recommendations lessens the report’s impact and usefulness.”
