Despite decades of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) is concerned why “U.S. citizens have only become sicker and more obese, while taxpayer dollars continue to fund this chaotic and broken process,” he said in a release.
Marshall and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) have introduced the Dietary Guidelines Reform Act of 2025, legislation that will amend the National Nutrition Monitoring & Related Research Act of 1990 and aims to modernize the development of federal dietary guidelines with up-to-date, evidence-based nutritional information.
“The Dietary Guidelines Reform Act brings much-needed transparency and scientific integrity to the dietary guidelines process, restores public trust, and aims for healthier outcomes by ensuring the recommendations truly serve the American people,” Marshall said in a release.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans — which inform all federal nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunch, and provide dietary recommendations used by health professionals — are updated every five years by the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services based on recommendations from an advisory committee.
Among its recommendations for the 2025 guidelines, the advisory committee said Americans should reduce and replace red meat with plant-based proteins.
Jackson introduced the House companion version of the bill.
“The Biden administration has weaponized the dietary guidelines to push a partisan agenda instead of sound nutritional science,” Jackson said in a release. “My bill will ensure these dietary guidelines are based on transparent, evidence-based research — not political ideologies — so Americans can trust they are getting real, science-backed recommendations that support their health and well-being.”
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) opposes the advisory committee’s recommendation on meat, noting in Capital Update that “[t]here has been no scientific justification for reducing red meat and replacing it with plant-based proteins. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans need to reflect nutrition science and continue to recommend animal-based protein such as red meat as a critical part of the American diet.”
NPPC added that it will work with the Trump administration to ensure the Dietary Guidelines best serve the health and nutrition interests of the American public.
“One of our roles at NPPC is to work on the dietary guidelines and provide feedback to those decision-makers on why pork needs to stay on the plate,” NPPC past president Lori Stevermer said at the National Pork Industry Forum. “I would say, certainly with the discussion on health and the focus on protein in diets, pork fits very well in the guidelines. We’re going to continue to make sure, through that work with the dietary guidelines, that the pork is part of everybody’s plate.”
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