Incoming Administration Urged to Follow Health Experts’ Recommendations to Promote Plant-Based Diets in 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In oral comments presented to the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Jan. 16, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine urged the agencies to follow recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report that call for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to emphasize plant-based diets and recommend water rather than cow’s milk as the beverage of choice. The Dietary Guidelines, which shapes federal food policy and advises Americans what to eat, is expected to be released by the end of 2025.

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is a group of nationally recognized nutrition and public health experts tasked with reviewing the current body of nutrition science on specific topics and questions and developing a Scientific Report that includes its independent, science-based advice for HHS and USDA to consider when updating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s report has put important and appropriate emphasis on beans and other plant-based foods,” said Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit with 17,000 doctor members, in his testimony. “Overwhelming evidence supports the role of these foods in supporting cardiovascular health, promoting a healthy body weight, and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other serious conditions.”

In response to the Scientific Report prioritizing plant protein over animal protein, Dr. Barnard added, “Beans and other plant-based foods provide protein without the cholesterol and saturated fat typically found in animal-based products.”

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report states, “The Committee recommends that the proposed Eat Healthy Your Way Dietary Pattern emphasizes dietary intakes of beans, peas, and lentils while reducing intakes of red and processed meats, as supported by systematic reviews as well as food pattern modeling analyses indicating that nutrient goals are generally met with such a shift from the 2020 HUSS to include more plant-based Protein Foods. The Committee also recommends moving Beans, Peas, and Lentils as a subgroup of the Vegetables Food Group to a subgroup of the Protein Foods Group to align with evidence to encourage plant sources of Protein Foods. The Committee also proposes reorganizing the order of the Protein Foods Group to list Beans, Peas, and Lentils first, followed by Nuts, Seeds, and Soy products, then Seafood, and finally Meats, Poultry, and Eggs.”

The Scientific Report also places “an emphasis on plain drinking water as the primary beverage for people to consume,” which Dr. Barnard said is important, because it “reflects actual human requirements.”

As the federal government prepares to transition administrations, the Physicians Committee is calling on the new USDA and HHS secretaries, once confirmed, to move ahead with these recommendations made by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

Dr. Barnard says, outside of his testimony, “We urge the incoming secretaries of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to make improving public health in the United States a priority by following through on the Scientific Report’s evidence-based recommendations for prioritizing plant-based diets and encouraging water as the beverage of choice.”

Public comments on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s report, and what should be in the next Dietary Guidelines for Americans, are being accepted until Feb. 10.