Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 3/12/15

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apparently doesn’t believe that sustainability issues contained in the recently proposed dietary guidelines for U.S. consumers should be part of the final set of recommendations from the federal agencies that developed them.

Vilsack made his observations regarding a need to focus on health issues as part of an interview yesterday with the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire blog.

The recommendations from USDA and the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) noted that sustainability should be part of future diets since current American diets place too great a strain on U.S. land and water supplies. The report – which is available for public review and comment throughout the month – also suggests that Americans eat less red meat, comments that roiled the nation’s meat industry.

Vilsack suggested in the interview that despite his personal view that the emphasis on sustainability is too far removed from the dietary guideline recommendations, there are specific forums in place to debate the proposal’s concepts.

“I read the actual law,” Vilsack told the Journal. “And what I read ... was that our job ultimately is to formulate dietary and nutrition guidelines. And I emphasize dietary and nutrition because that’s what the law says. I think it’s my responsibility to follow the law.”

The final version of the joint USDA-HHS recommendations is expected this fall.

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