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Washington • Congressional Republicans are pushing back against proposed dietary guidelines that urge Americans to consider the environment when deciding what to eat.
House and Senate spending bills say the guidelines must focus only on nutrition and diet. That's a clear effort to thwart a recommendation by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that eating a diet higher in vegetables and other plant-based foods is better for the environment than eating a diet based more on foods from animals.
The advice from a government advisory panel of independent doctors and nutrition experts has raised the ire of the meat industry.
The dietary guidelines come out every five years, and the government advice informs everything from school lunches and food packaging labels to advice from your doctor. The departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services are expected to issue a final version by year's end based on the advisory committee's February recommendations.
While the guidelines always have been subject to intense lobbying by food industries, this year's version has set off unprecedented political debate, fueled by Republicans' claims the Obama administration has gone too far in telling people what to eat.
The advisory panel also suggested a tax on sugary drinks and snacks as one way people could be coaxed into eating better, which angered beverage companies and conservatives in Congress.
Two spending bills in the House would set a new threshold for the science that can be used in setting the guidelines, saying the government only can make recommendations based on the strongest science. One of the bills was approved by a spending subcommittee last week, while the other was approved by the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., offered an amendment to strike the dietary guidelines language from the bill but it was rejected.
The guidelines panel had used three grades to determine the strength of the science supporting its recommendations: Grade 1 is strong, Grade 2 is moderate and Grade 3 is limited.
The advisory committee sent a letter to lawmakers Tuesday strongly opposing the legislation.
"I don't think public policy should be driven by the economic interests or the lobbyists," committee Chairwoman Barbara Millen said.
The recommendation that a more plant-based diet is better for the environment is based on science rated "moderate" in the report. The moderate threshold means there's a strong body of scientific evidence to support the recommendation, but it's not as conclusive.