Environment could become part of new U.S. dietary guidelines

every five years, the government issues new dietary guidelines to encourage Americans to eat healthier. These guidelines help people understand what they should and shouldn't eat in order to live a healthy life. But this year's version may look a little different, as officials consider incorporating the environmental impact of food.new focus calls on people to sacrifice meat and choose more fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and other plant-based foods. But beef and related industries are opposed, saying environmental impacts should not be included in long-term planning of dietary guidelines.Advisory Committee, in working with doctors and scholars from the expert group, drafted a new version of the dietary guidelines, which emphasize the sustainability of food conservation and provide an in-depth look at what constitutes healthy food. According to the Group of Experts, there is compatibility and overlap between the two components, which are beneficial to human health and to the environment.the meat industry has been fighting for years to ensure that dietary guidelines do not include recommendations for eating less meat. Currently, dietary guidelines do not recommend a complete reduction in meat consumption, but rather a reduction in lean meat consumption. However, the draft panel discussion said that the

red and processed meatsconsumed in a healthy diet plan should be less than currently consumed.
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
and
the American Meat Institute
have both commented that the commission is biased and called its comments on meat surprising and arbitrary.many members of Congress have also spoken out against them. Last month's massive spending bill noted in some of the bills that the advisory committee was interested in making the environment part of its dietary guidelines and directing
Tom Vilsack
, a Department of Agriculture official, to include nutrition and dietary information in the final dietary guidelines, without additional factors.environmentalists have long pushed the government to make the environment a consideration in their healthy eating plans.
Hamerschlag
, a member of the Friends of the Earth advocacy group, said"We need to make sure that our diet matches natural resources and our need to mitigate climate change."


Jacobson
of the Center for Science in the Public Interest says the idea of broader dietary guidelines is not without precedent, they have long been a guide for physiological activity and food safety. He added

You don't want to recommend a diet that's going to harm the planet
a recent study in the Journal of the National Journal of Scientific Process found that the beef industry is more harmful to the environment than other meat industries, such as pork and chicken.according to the study, beef produces more heat-absorbing gas per calorie than other animal proteins, emits more nitrogen from polluting water bodies, needs more water to feed, and takes up more land.