The New Guidelines for Healthy Eating for Americans

Every time I think that we can’t be more gaslit or sold out by the very agencies put in place to protect our interests…you know, the interests of the American people, I am the one fooled.

And once again, I am not disappointed. The ‘inverted’ pyramid has been released by the FDA and HHS; you know, the one that touts beef tallow, butter, whole milk and lots and lots of meat? That one?

As it turns out, according to The Hill, there are as many greasy fingerprints on it as one would expect. It has not turned out to be the noble pursuit of creating health for Americans as much as it is a ‘bro tour’ of muscle heads looking to create a country in their likeness, no matter the cost to our collective health.

Gone is all the evidence about the impact of animal fats on human and planetary health, because we have become a government that spurns science and adopts the carnivore diet to show how big and strong we are.

Please; spare me.

It turns out that a majority of members on this illustrious food panel tasked with providing US dietary guidelines for healthy eating have deep ties to the industries with a stake in deciding who makes the cut.

Nine of the twenty experts on the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee had financial ties to food, pharmaceutical, grocery and other involved industries (according to US Right to Know).

Another four members had possible conflicts of interest with industry people with a history of corporate sponsorship and lobbying on guideline development. “Possible conflicts of interest” is sort of like the Pope being “possibly Catholic.”

You see, the committee, which is made up of nutrition and public health experts have the important job of updating and releasing important dietary guidelines every five years, with the goal of making our citizens healthy…or at least healthier.

With literally millions of lives at stake, as people seek guidance on the healthy eating options, these guidelines, (although heeded by fewer and fewer Americans) are serious with impactful consequences for our collective health.

While the DAGC website reads that it’s dedicated to the current body of nutrition science, the reality is a bit…different. Supposedly, the committee is to provide guidance on how to “build a healthy diet that can promote healthy growth and development, help prevent diet-related chronic diseases and meet nutrient needs.”

In fairness; in defense of the guidelines and so that I won’t be accused of having a vegan agenda (which I absolutely do have), they do advise us to eat real food (but do I really need threats from Mike Tyson to do so?); they recommend 3 servings of veggies and 2 of fruit daily. They tell us to minimize carbohydrates, but then advise 2-4 servings of whole grains (I understand they mean avoidance of white sugar and flour, but the advice is confusing at best; conflicting at worst).

And, thank God, they are ending the war on protein (sort of like the war on Christmas?). Protein, the one nutrient every…single…person on the street can talk about because it’s what all we obsess about. Did you get enough protein? Did you? Well, did you?

As Sec RFK Jr, said, “We are ending the war on saturated fats.” Lots of food fights going on, at least in their heads, with our health as the casualties.

The Guidelines read as such (it’s a long quote; stay with me):

“The message is simple: eat real food. To Make America Healthy Again, we must return to the basics. American households must prioritize diets built on whole, nutrient-dense foods—protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains.

Paired with a dramatic reduction in highly processed foods laden with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium, unhealthy fats, and chemical additives, this approach can change the health trajectory for so many Americans.

The United States is amid a health emergency. Nearly 90% of health care spending goes to treating people who have chronic diseases. Many of these illnesses are not genetic destiny; they are the predictable result of the Standard American Diet—a diet which, over time, has become reliant on highly processed foods and coupled with a sedentary lifestyle.

The consequences have been devastating. More than 70% of American adults are overweight or obese. Nearly one in three American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 has prediabetes. Diet-driven chronic disease now disqualifies large numbers of young Americans from military service, undermining national readiness and cutting off a historic pathway to opportunity and upward mobility.

For decades, federal incentives have promoted low-quality, highly processed foods and pharmaceutical intervention instead of prevention. This crisis is the result of poor policy choices; inadequate nutrition research; and a lack of coordination across federal, state, local, and private partners. This changes today.”

Sounds great, right? This statement is, however, a little fuzzy on facts. For instance, never has the government “promoted low-quality, highly-processed foods,” at least not in my lifetime. And as someone who sat on the advisory committee for the guidelines twice, I can tell you for a fact, we fought for every healthy recommendation we achieved in a room full of lobbyists pushing for the opposite of healthy.

Here is where it gets really sticky. Industries with a stake in setting food policy spend millions of dollars each year and hire armies of lobbyists (including former employees of these very agencies). The agribusiness spent $169.5 million on lobbying in 2022 alone. The food and beverage industry spent $28.1 million (according to OpenSecrets).

On top of that, seventy-four percent of the 328 food and beverage lobbyists whispering in our representatives’ and agencies’ ears worked at the agencies involved and then their industries, creating the famous “revolving door” that prevents us, as citizens from getting any real, untainted information about food.

How are we expected to understand the impact of beef, for instance, on our wellness, when the very people who benefit from our eating beef are lobbying for a place at the table (pun fully intended). Do we really think that the scientific reviewers can be impartial when the conflicts of interest pages show that they take reimbursement from The Global Dairy Platform, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Texas Beef Council, National Chicken Council, National Pork Council, General Mills, American Dairy Science Association, Novo Nordisk, etc.?

It will be, as usual, up to us to play detective and discover the truth about what’s in and on our food. With forever chemicals deregulated and glyphosate manufacturers immune from prosecution, the Pandora’s box of toxins in our air, water and soil will once again create a confusing landmine for us to navigate as consumers. And with soaring healthcare costs, many of our citizens will be left out in the cold when it comes to care they may desperately need.

My advice? Cultivate some food in your own little space, even if it’s one of those little gardens you can grow in or outdoors. Use your local farm markets where you know who’s growing your food. Shop as locally as possible and eat whole grains, veggies, fruits, beans, tofu and tempeh with seeds, nuts, good fats like olive oil, olives and avocados. Fair trade, dark chocolate, homemade desserts round out a real, real foods approach to eating.

Skip ultra-processed foods (so I do agree with them on some things…) and certainly skip the beef tallow and other animal products. It seems our experts exist to justify the carnivore diet enjoyed by some. Don’t be gaslit again. We all know the truth about saturated fats and animal foods. You don’t need experts to tell you that there’s no good news about them…for human health or the future of our planet.

These guidelines as well as the deregulation of toxins in our food, soil, water and air will leave us navigating a minefield where we will have to be content to do the best we can to survive until saner advice is presented to us by real experts.

And then there’s the new Surgeon General who is not even a licensed medical doctor. Good luck people; your health is truly in your hands.

A final note: A new study reveals that vegetarians have a lower chance of developing multiple types of cancer than meat eaters, including pancreatic, breast, prostate and kidney, according to a new study. It’s the largest study ever on the impact of diet on health, looking at data from some 1.8 million people from India, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and United States.

Take that RFK, Jr…