Deirdre
Food industry lobbyists are exerting pressure on Congress to weaken the soon-to-be-released 2015 USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines for Americans. If they succeed, the Guidelines will put politics before sound science, and fail to provide useable guidance for Americans that could help prevent thousands of cancers every year.
In two new appropriations bills now under consideration by Congress, language has been added that would:
- Subject the Dietary Guidelines to an arbitrary standard of evidence that doesn’t align with accepted scientific practice observed by other government entities like the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, the Institutes of Medicine, as well as the World Health Organization.
- Not allow the Dietary Guidelines to make recommendations on issues closely related to food and nutrition. This would mean, for example, that the clear and convincing evidence about the impact of obesity and inactivity on cancer and other chronic diseases would not be considered.
- Prevent the Dietary Guidelines from:
- proposing public health ideas to help Americans decrease our national intake of sodium, saturated fat and added sugars
- encouraging Americans to increase our physical activity, and
- providing practical guidance to families about healthy eating and living
These changes would represent a huge step backward in national health policy, and – crucially, from AICR’s perspective – mean that much of the evidence showing how people can lower their cancer risk would be effectively ignored, including the latest AICR research on the clear and convincing link between obesity and ten of the most common forms of cancer.
The proposed changes are so extreme and antithetical to the Dietary Guidelines’ commitment to science and public health that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee – the team of scientists tapped by the government to evaluate the scientific evidence that shape the Dietary Guidelines — has sent a letter to Congress criticizing the new language and requesting it be removed.
You can add your voice and help keep the Dietary Guidelines strong and free of political and food industry interference. Contact the Congressional Committees on Appropriations and let them know you want them to remove the riders on the Dietary Guidelines appropriations bill.
Here’s a few ways how:
- The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has an electronic letter you can sign and send to Congress:
- Or you can get the Committees’ phones ringing: Senate Committee on Appropriations Switchboard: 202-224-7257 and the House Committee on Appropriations Switchboard: 202-225-2771
Read a draft of one of the Appropriations Bills in question (pdf).
Which food lobbyists are trying to weaken the Dietary Guidelines? Is there any testimony or written documentation I can reference to see why and how they wish to weaken the Dietary Guidelines.
Thank you.
Hi Morton, please see links in comments section above.
Do you believe there is a way to correct the spelling of “antiethical.” I hate to forward letters with spelling mistakes.
It is deplorable that industry and their supporters in government are trying to stop good health guidelines for the benefit of the health of the people of the .
Congress. Please so not lower expectations in dietary guidelines.
Cancer prevention is for everyone.
Thank you. Nancy Dieball
In my opinion, we should be strengthening our resolve to inform people of the most effective ways to prevent cancer – not watering down the preventive measures we can take.
I need to know what is being proposed and what Congress is proposing, can’t follow things blindly.
Here are some links. The language appears in 2 sections of the appropriations bill, Sections 232 and 734
Here’s the riders, which are ways to restrict funds on certain policy issues – (these are PDFs):
Section 734, page 80
Section 232, page 98
Here’s a link to expert Marion Nestle’s blog on this, on role of industry, with excerpts:
Here’s a release from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic on the bill:
Keep the Dietary Guidelines strong and free of political and food industry interference.
Listening to scientists, doctors and nutritionists makes more sense than listening to corporations. Put people’s health ahead of dollars for the already rich.
This is an important topic for us to be educated about.
Please keep the Dietary Guidelines strong and free of political and food industry interference.
It is important to keep dietary guidelines strong and free of political and food industry interference