April 15, 2015
www.gfb.org
Vol. 33 No. 15
GFB SUBMITS COMMENTS ON DIETARY GUIDELINES REPORT Saying the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee goes beyond the committee’s designated scope of work, Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall submitted comments on the committee’s scientific report on April 8. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the USDA released the scientific report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on Feb. 23. Public comments, originally scheduled to close on April 8, have been extended to May 8. In particular, Duvall expressed GFB’s concern over the inclusion of a section on sustainability in the report. “Due to the influential nature of the dietary guidelines, it is imperative that the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture base the guidelines on well-established, widely accepted scientific evidence,” Duvall wrote, noting that the report strongly suggests the committee would base dietary guidelines on more than health and nutrition considerations. Further, the sustainability section is based on the perspective of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), whose 2006 report “Livestock’s Long Shadow” has provided the basis for innumerable attacks against the livestock and poultry industries despite serious and welldocumented flaws in the FAO report. The report references other studies on sustainability that present negative views of U.S. commercial agriculture. Duvall also pointed out that past dietary guidelines have included lean meat as a part of a healthy diet, but the 2015 report has no such statement. “The committee’s focus on sustainability is inappropriate given the purpose and scope of the dietary guidelines,” Duvall wrote. “Based on the widely recognized role that meat and dairy can play in a healthy diet, we urge USDA and HHS to restore the positive statements about these products that have been common in dietary guidelines of the past.” On March 31 Rep. Vicky Hartzler wrote to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressing disappointment in the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report and asking that the agencies ensure that the final guidelines are based on sound nutritional science. The letter was signed by an additional 70 members of Congress, including Georgia Reps. Buddy Carter (R-1st District), Austin Scott (R-8th District) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-3rd District). The Dietary Guidelines for Americans was first published in 1980 and has been updated every five years since. It has been used as the basis for federal nutrition policy, education, outreach and food assistance programs used by consumers, industry, nutrition educators and health professionals.