Share Your Beef About the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans that will be released later this year will likely make a huge step forward by removing “lean meat” from its list of favored foods—unless the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association gets its way.

At the association’s Cattle Industry Conference this past weekend, attendees said they will “remain committed to working with the administration and Congress to ensure the final guidelines reflect the highest quality science and the role of lean beef in a healthy diet.” But there is no safe amount of meat—lean or otherwise.

The association is not alone in trying to skew science. It is joined by the National Dairy Council, the North American Meat Institute, the Sugar Association, the United Egg Producers, and other industry groups that stand to profit by having their products included in the guidelines.

But the diet that is scientifically proven to fight our nation’s largest public health threats—obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease—is one rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes—not meat, eggs, and dairy products.