Dive Brief:
- Reports have surfaced that the advisory panel for the USDA's upcoming dietary guidelines may recommend less meat consumption, to the dismay of meat producers.
- The panel is thought to be considering the environmental impact of the standard diet as opposed to just the health benefits for humans.
- This recommendation may be due to studies that show meat consumption leaves a large carbon footprint as compared to more plant-based diets.
Dive Insight:
In the past, the USDA has recommended that consumers eat leaner rather than less meat. But the environmental concerns that have arisen may sway the USDA to include less meat consumption in its upcoming dietary guidelines, which it releases every five years. The livestock industry has been shown to produce 15% of global carbon emissions, two-thirds of which come from beef production.