CSPI, Others React to Dietary Guidelines

May 31, 2000

The Center for Science in the Public Interest believes USDA’s latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans is better than the previous edition but still shows the government "caved in to pressure from junk-food makers and downplayed its scientific advisory committee’s advice."

"The government had the headline advise people to `moderate’ their intake of added sugars and put the word `limit’ lower in the text," CSPI complained. The average consumer now uses 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, twice what USDA recommends.

Still, the new guidelines "represent a nice improvement over the current guidelines (and place) greater emphasis on a plant-based, more vegetarian diet," CSPI said.

However, a group calling itself the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine called for the withdrawal and redrafting of the guidelines. The guidelines "are much too weak," said Neal D. Barnard, PCRM president. "Americans are in the worst shape they’ve ever been with obesity at an all time high. The government should be pushing for a diet built from grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes and keep meat and dairy products no more than mere options."

PCRM, whose positions are often not the same as those of the major medical associations, contends that no scientific basis exists to support the guidelines’ lack of acknowledgment that vegetarian diets can help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and other chronic diseases.

"The inclusion of beverage alcohol in the government’s dietary guidelines is a recognition that moderate beverage alcohol consumption is compatible with a healthy adult lifestyle for most people," said Peter H. Cressy, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). "The guidelines’ primary message on beverage alcohol – `if you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation’ – has been the centerpiece of the education programs supported by the distillers over the decades.