01.07.16

Hoeven Statement on The Administration's Final Dietary Recommendations

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their final Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Hoeven and a group of Senate colleagues pressed the USDA and HHS to base their recommendations on nutritional science and not on extraneous considerations like an environmental agenda. The group also pressed for recognition of the role of lean red meat in a healthy diet for both children and adults. Read their letter here.

“The new recommendations issued by the USDA and HHS will have far-reaching effects, dictating nutrition recommendations for school lunches, dietary requirements for military troops and other food-related programs for a five year period. That’s why it’s so important to get it right. To ensure that, Congress passed legislation directing Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to ‘only include nutrition and dietary information, not extraneous factors, in the final 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.’ I am pleased to see that the final rules do so.

“Previously, the proposed guidelines included a recommendation that Americans eat less red meat due in part to concerns about environmental sustainability. The final guidelines, however, remove that recommendation and recognize that a variety of protein sources, including lean meats, contribute to a healthy diet. We all know the importance of good diet in promoting healthy lives and proper child development. That means the focus of federal dietary guidelines should be based on good science and the nutritional needs of children and adults.”