New U.S. dietary guidelines may advise reduced red meat consumption

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) is a group of nationally recognized experts in nutrition, health, and medicine who are convened every five years to review and update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. After the review, new guidelines are published jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. They are used to influence national nutrition policy, public health initiatives, and educational programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The committee has formulated a draft for the upcoming 2025-30 guidelines. Notably for the first time, they include a warning to limit red meat consumption. Current guidelines suggest limiting saturated fat but do not explicitly recommend reducing red meat intake. More specifically, the guidelines may advise not eating as much red and processed meat, and instead prioritizing plant-based proteins. Legumes (peas, beans, lentils) would be reclassified as protein foods and listed above animal proteins, along with soy, nuts, and seeds. This aligns with scientific research highlighting health benefits of plant-based diets and risks associated with high red meat intake.

Red meat consumption, especially processed varieties, has been linked to coronary heart disease (CHD), although the link with unprocessed red meat is less clear (Figure 1). In particular, there has been much research trying to understand how red meat might contribute to atherosclerosis, a significant factor in heart disease. Two main suspects are high saturated fat content and heme iron in red meat (QH). Heme iron is a component of hemoglobin and myoglobin, crucial for oxygen transport and storage, and is abundant in red meat, but less abundant in white meat and sea food. The problem is that heme iron from animal sources is absorbed more efficiently than non-heme iron from plant sources. This can lead to excessive iron intake far above the recommended daily amount. In a previous post, I described a meta-analysis which showed a 31% increased CHD risk with higher heme iron intake. 

The average American consumes around 107 lbs of red meat annually, an astonishing amount, according to a report from the EAT-Lancet Commission (link). EAT-Lancet, an alliance of the nonprofit EAT and the medical journal Lancet, goes on to suggest a limit of 11 lbs of red meat per year for health and environmental benefits. The U.S. dietary guidelines will not suggest any such stringent limit.

As an aside, the EAT-Lancet report also highlights that red meat production contributes heavily to pollution, land, and water scarcity, and is among the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions from food systems (QH).

Meat industry representatives and some meat consumers expressed strong opposition, labeling the guidelines as impractical or elitist. For example, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association opposes the draft, arguing that reducing red meat intake could increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies among Americans. In addition, comments from the public reflect skepticism, with some associating dietary recommendations with attempts at control and others defending red meat as part of American culture.

Importantly, these guidelines are currently in draft form, with the final version anticipated by the end of next year, and so nothing is set in stone. Regardless of the final outcome, there is ample evidence that consuming too much red meat, especially processed red meat, is not healthy for you, and especially not good for cardiovascular health. It behooves people to think about moving to non-red meat especially sea food, which is one of the key features that distinguishes the diet of East Asian countries like Japan. It is important to have enough protein in your diet but their are alternatives to animal meat such as plant sources of protein. Iron is also essential for certain individuals (e.g. menstruating women), but it is likely that many people are consuming too much iron.

Figure 1. Consuming too much red meat, especially processed red meat, is bad for cardiovascular health. The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans may recommend limiting the intake of red meat, and encourage substitution with plant protein sources.