Latest from Food Politics: Is the Dietary Guidelines' prioritizing of meat about industry lobbying or personal ideology?

In my post last week, “The government is actively promoting meat and dairy intake, ” I said The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans actively promote meat and dairy intake, especially full-fat dairy.   The USDA has long acted as a marketing arm ...

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By Marion Nestle February 12 2026 Is the Dietary Guidelines’ prioritizing of meat about industry lobbying or personal ideology? In my post last week, “The government is actively promoting meat and dairy intake,” I said The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans actively promote meat and dairy intake, especially full-fat dairy.  The USDA has long acted as a marketing arm of those industries through its research and promotion (checkoff) programs. I then noted that this government takes promotion to new levels through its milk mustache ads and pronouncements that we have ended the war on protein (protein has long been understood as a euphemism for meat). I ended with this comment: “I chalk all this up to the extraordinary lobbying power of the meat and dairy industries.” Whew.  Did that ever get a response. Readers raised two issues: I.  The guidelines and inverted pyramid give equal weight to plant foods. That’s not how I read them.  I see them as giving lip service to plants but prioritizing meat.  They visually present meat most prominently in the interactive graphic at realfood.gov.  Subsequent statements of the USDA and HHS secretaries also support this view.  And then there are the authors with financial links to beef industry groups who wrote the scientific reports relevent to meat. II. This is not about meat industry lobbying; it is about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s ideology.  Well, yes.  That too.  “Ideology” refers to belief systems that structure views of the world.  Everybody has them. I, for example, am ideologically in favor of the dietary guidelines’ advice to eat real food and avoid highly processed food, but ideologically opposed to advice to prioritize animal protein over plant protein.  I would argue that the vast preponderance of research supports that view. People holding other ideological views disagree, evidently.  They pick different studies to read and come to different conclusions. Two members of the nine people writing scientific reviews for the guidelines assure me that their reviews are unbiased.  But those reviews invariably reflect the ideology of the people who wrote them. As I often point out, nutrition research is impossible to control rigorously, unless you lock people up for extended periods of time.  That is why the best controlled studies, those done in monitored metabolic wards, can only be done for a few weeks at most.  Diets are complicated; eaters are complicated; research is complicated.  Complicated research requires interpretation.  Interpretation depends on the interpreter’s particular ideology. That is why appointing a diverse committee to look at research questions has its benefits; people with differing ideologies have to work out points of agreement. I will say this for RFK, Jr.  He makes his ideology clear.  It prioritizes personal experience over science. My ideology: We need science to distinguish anecdote from fact. Let’s agree that on the meat priority issue, RFK Jr’s ideology fits well with meat industry objectives. The meat industry has a long history of lobbying around dietary guidelines (see my book, Food Politics). I have not seen specific reports of meat industry lobbying around the new dietary guidelines.  Apparently, no lobbying was necessary. The post Is the Dietary Guidelines’ prioritizing of meat about industry lobbying or personal ideology? appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines: Some preliminary speculation The MAHA Dietary Guidelines IV: Eat more meat! Industry-influenced conference of the week: reducing methane emissions   Now Available: What to Eat Now My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out! It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously. For more information and to order, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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Latest from Food Politics: FDA says food companies can claim "no artificial colors" if they use natural dyes.

HHS issued a press release last week: FDA takes New Approach to “No Artificial Colors” Claims Companies will now have flexibility to claim products contain ‘no artificial colors’ when the products do not contain petroleum-based colors. In ...

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By Marion Nestle February 11 2026 FDA says food companies can claim “no artificial colors” if they use natural dyes. HHS issued a press release last week: FDA takes New Approach to “No Artificial Colors” Claims Companies will now have flexibility to claim products contain ‘no artificial colors’ when the products do not contain petroleum-based colors. In the past, companies were generally only able to make such claims when their products had no added color whatsoever — whether derived from natural sources or otherwise. The agency sent a letter to industry providing notice of the FDA’s intent to exercise enforcement discretion related to these voluntary labeling claims. ..Additionally, the agency today also approved beetroot red, a new color option, and approved the expanded use of spirulina extract, an existing color additive derived from a natural source…This brings the total number of new food color options approved under the current administration to six. …Ongoing progress in removing petroleum-based colors from the food supply is being publicly tracked by the FDA at Tracking Food Industry Pledges to Remove Petroleum Based Food Dyes. Natural colors are generally extracted from vegetables, spices, or insects.  They go through industrial processing to extract the pigments and stabilize them.  (A series of videos explains the processes) Are natural colors healthier?  They might be.  They are not associated with behavioral problems in children. Are they safer?  Possibly, but they are not as well studied or regulated.  According to Time, …their natural sources of color do not necessarily mean that they are safer or free of potentially harmful compounds. Natural sources may be treated with pesticides and herbicides, and are also prone to contamination with bacteria and other pathogens…To strip natural products of these contaminants, manufacturers process them with various solvents—some of which could remain in the final coloring and contribute to negative health effects…[and] it generally takes more natural color than synthetic color to make the same shade in a final food. One additional point: color additives—regardless of source—are an indicator of ultra-processing. Candy and cereals made with colors extracted from natural sources will still be ultra-processed. The purpose of food colors—no matter their source—is entirely cosmetic.  They make foods look more appealing and appear to taste better. That’s why the food industry loves added colors. Removing the more vibrant and more stable petroleum-based colors may reduce sales. Will doing so Make America Healthy Again?  We shall see. The post FDA says food companies can claim “no artificial colors” if they use natural dyes. appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts Recent events in pet food safety and ingredients The FDA’s promised work plan for 2026: ambitious, yes, but doable? Today’s dysfunctional FDA: Could staff losses have something to do with it?   Now Available: What to Eat Now My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out! It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously. For more information and to order, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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