Health advocates want Obama to call for eating less meat

The Obama administration’s dietary guidelines should discourage people from eating so much meat, a group of health and environmental advocates say in a petition to the government.

More than 150,000 people are calling on the administration to issue nutritional recommendations that rely more on fruits and vegetables and less on meat.

{mosads}They’re defending a controversial report issued last month from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that suggests a vegan diet offers the most potential health benefits, which attracted criticism from the meat industry.

Eating less meat is not only healthier, but also better for the environment, the panel noted.

“The science is clear that eating less meat and more plants is better for our health and the health of our planet and future generations,” said Kari Hamerschlag, food and technology senior program manager at Friends of the Earth. 

But the meat industry has attacked the recommendations, arguing that eating meat is healthy and that the guidelines will turn people away from eating beef, pork and poultry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Service will weigh the panel’s recommendations as it prepares to issue new dietary guidelines later this year.