By law, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) must be reviewed every five years and rewritten if necessary. The last version was DGA 2010, so a revision is necessary this year (they always revise the DGA as it gives people something to do and feel important), and only two months remain to be compliant.

This will be the eighth version of the DGA.

I was with the Feds from July, 2005, to October, 2008, so I never had to participate in the process, and I am glad of that because it continues to baffle me that we cannot come up with guidelines that can stand the test of time.

It is no surprise that the Scientific Advisory Committee released their report to the Secretaries of the USDA and HHS who will co-author the executive summary and either approve the recommendations or send it back for revisions.

What seemed to surprise some folks was the fact that the DGA for 2015 did not include any statements about the environment and climate considerations.

It also baffles me as to what climate conditions have to do with dietary guidelines.

The sustainable food advocates are crying foul and blaming the meat lobby for getting climate considerations off the table for the DGA.

“This is a politically-motivated decision and not based on either law or science” attorney and author Michele Simon has written. She is known to be often outspoken against modern animal agriculture husbandry issues.

I am trying to figure out what the “law and science” have to do with what I should be eating.

She also wrote that “the government recommended cutting back on hamburgers, hotdogs and other unhealthy foods…”

I love my 93% lean, healthy ground beef in burgers, in chili, in tacos and on pizza.

It is a fact that 15% of Americans have difficulty being able to afford to put healthy food on their child’s plates.

It is also a fact that 73% of American males and 64% of American females are obese, meaning they are either eating the wrong foods and/or not getting the recommended amount of physical exercise.

Unless I am wrong these numbers indicate only a very small number of Americans will change their eating habits every five years just because a bunch of bureaucrats recommend they do exactly that.

For those advocates that want us to eat less meat because it will save the planet, I ask you this:

Have you driven a car, used public transportation or flown in the last year? Do you have pets that poop?

Is it really the environment you want to save, or is it the lives of animals?

Dietary guidelines for Americans—again

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