New dietary guidelines - take action

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) has just submitted their updated recommendations to the U.S. Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Agriculture.

This little known activity happens every five years, but this year, something different came out in their report!

Two things, actually...

• The report addresses questions of inequitable access to healthy food, dietary disparities between racial and ethnic groups, and the challenges to food security among lower income populations, and,
• Sustainability - The report says, “Meeting current and future food needs will depend on two concurrent approaches: altering individual and population dietary choices and patterns and developing agricultural and production practices that reduce environmental impacts and conserve resources….”

The Secretary of Agriculture is getting pressure from the food industry and some members of Congress to reject the sustainability portion of the report.

What can you do?  Before May 8, write to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and urge them to accept the recommendations in total!

More on the subject in Mark Winne's blog.

Sign on to a letter to the Secretaries here.

Read the report and offer comments here.