By Bill Duesing
With the February release of the
"Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee"
comes increased attention to the question of what we should eat. This report is
used by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to issue
the guidelines they make every five years for what Americans should eat.
This whole process exposes the
great tension between foods that are good for us and foods that are profitable
for big food and industrial agriculture - between the health we want and the
growth in profits that the food and agriculture industry wants.
The report summed up its recommendations
this way:
The U.S.
population should be encouraged and guided to consume dietary patterns that are
rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate
in low- and non-fat dairy products and alcohol (among adults); lower in red and
processed meat; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages and refined
grains. These dietary patterns can be achieved in many ways and should be
tailored to the individual’s biological and
medical needs as well as socio-cultural preferences.
Based on what I've learned about
diet, food, health and farming over the decades, these recent recommendations
(except perhaps for the low fat dairy part) make sense for both human
and environmental health. There are lots
of ways to meet these guidelines, which is another positive step.
