The pork industry was fast off the mark, complaining that it’s
foolish to recommend alcohol, but not pork.
“We think the advisory committee has taken the wrong
approach,” said Howard Hill, a veterinarian and pork producer from Cambridge,
Iowa., who is president of the National Pork Producers Council.
“Science recognizes that meat is, and should be, a part of a
healthful diet …. It appears the advisory committee was more interested in
addressing what’s trendy among foodies than providing science-based advice for
the average American’s diet.
“Have we really come to the point where alcohol is okay and
meat isn’t?” he said, referring to the fact that the committee omitted lean
meat from its recommended dietary pattern (recommending 5.5 ounces a day of
“protein foods”) while including a recommendation for moderate amounts of
alcohol.
Barry Carpenter, chief executive officer of the North American
Meat Institute, said in a news release, that “lean meat’s relegation to a
footnote ignores the countless studies and data that the committee reviewed for
the last two years that showed unequivocally that meat and poultry are among
the most nutrient dense foods available. Nutrient dense lean meat is a
headline, not a footnote.”
Publication of the committee’s recommendations touches off a
period for public comment.
