A dietary health committee from the Biden-Harris administration is poised to issue guidelines for people in the United States recommending that plant-based proteins supplant animal-based proteins, such as beef, chicken, and eggs.
In the meantime the plan to downgrade animal-based proteins could hurt Vice President Kamala Harris's chances with swing state voters in farming communities.
During the meeting, the panel strongly supported downgrading meat, poultry, and eggs as primary protein and elevating beans, peas, and lentils out of the vegetable category of the food groups.
The recommendations, which would be in effect until 2030, come as environmentalists argue that industrialized meat and poultry production, particularly the cattle industry, is exacerbating climate change and that switching to plant-based protein would be more sustainable.
DGAC, a 20-member panel assembled every five years by the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, has been issuing diet recommendations since the 1980s, with the first congressionally mandated dietary guidelines report issued in 1995.
"If there are more plant sources of proteins in the protein category, that could help overcome that, you know, mislabeling or misnomer or misinformation by having it more prominently," Tobias said about moving legumes to the protein category.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association has also strongly opposed the push toward plant proteins and criticized the impending 2025 guidelines.
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