Food Safety News is reporting this week that suggestions that meat alternatives such as plant-based burgers should be included in the National Dietary Guidelines would be extremely unpopular in some quarters. Still, others already extol the benefits of vegetables and fruits — and that it would only be a modest step for the government to recommend meatless products for use in school cafeterias and nursing homes.
Such a change would certainly cause fireworks among groups that raise livestock and who believe that meat is the “backbone of a healthy diet.” However, the report also notes that while the role of meats in U.S. diets has long been central, “without a doubt, people's eating preferences do change as time goes by. Doctors' advice also changes.”
FSN says that while consumers do not often follow the guidelines precisely, they affect federal nutrition policies and form the basis for changes to programs such as the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. And, the government hopes “that people will substitute healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and lean meats for junk food — at least for some of it.” This, in turn, is expected to improve people's health.
FSN notes that the most recently released advisory report took place against a backdrop of significant and worsening health issues related to nutrition in the United States — including overweight and obesity. More than 70% of Americans are overweight or obese and these cause both public health problem and are linked to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.
In addition, 6 in 10 Americans have a chronic health condition and 4 in 10 have 2 or more. And while various conditions contribute to the prevalence of these diseases, unhealthy dietary patterns and a lack of physical activity are especially important.
Another health-related problem is that many low-income people simply don't have access to healthy food. FSN says that in 2018, more than 37 million people, including 6 million children, lived in households that were uncertain of having or unable to acquire, enough food to meet their needs.
The federal guidance already advises consumers to choose diets higher in vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grains, lean meats and seafood, appropriate dairy foods and unsaturated vegetable oils while reducing red and processed meats, saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and beverages and foods with added sugars.
Still, FSN notes that the guidelines don't recommend cutting out meat altogether but that meats should be lean and the portions small — no larger than the palm of your hand or your cellphone. However, some nutritionists note that alternative meats like the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat burgers are highly processed and made with a lot of ingredients. And they contain a lot of sodium, which is often linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, a major cause of stroke and heart disease.
FSN says American consumers are increasingly seeking out “natural” foods — that is, foods without a long list of ingredients and choosing “nutrient-dense” foods that provide substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) and relatively few calories compared to forms of the food that have solid fat and/or added sugars.
FSN also points out that Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown argues that that the critics of plant-based meats are missing the point and that “our product is substantially better for the consumer than what it replaces,” he said.
These new plant-based burgers and other meat options are actually directed toward meat-eaters, especially since vegetarians make up only 3% of the U.S. population. According to a long-term study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, swapping only 3% of total calories in the diet from animal to plant protein was found to be linked to a 10% decrease in the risk of death.
As for the guidelines, Michele Simon, executive director of the Plant-Based Foods Association said she is pleased to see the Advisory Committee follow the science and recommending a mostly plant-based diet while reducing saturated fats as well as red and processed meats. But when asked if the dietary guidelines should include recommendations in favor of plant-based meats, she thinks that the ball is in the consumer's court. “We are pleased that the recommendations follow the science that we should all reduce our meat intake,” she said, “however consumers should choose whether to make that change in their diets.”
So, we will see. The current crop of alternative meat products seem to be much more competitive with livestock and meat products than those developed earlier. Still, it will be necessary for them to compete economically as well as on the basis of taste and nutrition — a process that will take some time, and which producers should watch closely as it proceeds, Washington Insider believes.
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