Some Ag Groups Concerned Over Focus on Processed Food, Seed Oils in New Dietary Guidelines

Agri-Pulse’s Steve Davies reported that “the ag and food industry, particularly the meat, dairy and produce sectors, welcomed the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but soybean growers were alarmed by statements calling into question the potential for seed oils to harm Americans’ health. Some sectors raised concerns about the focus on highly processed foods.”

“While the guidelines themselves did not target seed oils, which Make America Healthy Again advocates have said cause inflammation, appendices to the DGA singled them out for further study,” Davies reported. “‘Seed oils contain unsaturated fatty acids, which are more prone to thermal oxidation than saturated fatty acids,’ says the document’s Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. ‘[T]he evidence indicates that thermally generated lipid oxidation products are bioavailable when ingested through food, and that they may impair cardiometabolic health.'”

“Shortly after the guidelines and appendices were released, the American Soybean Association fired back: ‘The new guidelines highlight the importance of increased protein consumption, including plant-based proteins such as soy-based foods,’ the group’s press release says,” according to Davies’ reporting. “‘They also emphasize prioritizing healthy fats, including oils rich in essential fatty acids like soybean oil. However, the report’s addenda continue to call into question the process of soybean oil extraction, which is scientifically proven to be safe for human health.'”

“The International Dairy Foods Association expressed concern about the new focus on highly processed foods while welcoming the emphasis on protein consumption,” Davies reported. “IDFA President and CEO Michael Dykes said the guidelines ‘highlight dairy’s central role as a protein source alongside healthy meats, eggs, seafood, and other protein foods.’ But he also said in a press release that the reference to highly processed foods could confuse consumers.”

“‘Many nutritious, safe, and essential foods—including milk, yogurt, and cheese—undergo processing to ensure quality, safety, and accessibility,’ he said,” according to Davies’ reporting. “‘Establishing dietary guidance around an undefined or inconsistently applied term risks discouraging consumption of nutrient-rich foods that are vital to public health.'”

What do the New Guidelines Say?

Politico’s Ruth Reader and Marcia Brown reported that “the Trump administration is urging Americans to embrace full-fat dairy products, cook with beef tallow and eat more protein in a new set of directives shaped by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign.”

“The Dietary Guidelines for Americans released Wednesday mesh MAHA-influenced changes with longer-standing advice for people to cut sugar consumption while eating more whole grains and colorful vegetables and avoiding ‘highly processed’ foods,” Reader and Brown reported. “Kennedy offered a simple message at a press conference announcing the guidelines: ‘Eat real food,’ he said. ‘Nothing matters more for health care outcomes, economic productivity, military readiness and fiscal stability.'”

“The new guidance largely makes good on Trump officials’ promises to recommend slashing intake of added sugar, which Kennedy has called ‘poison’ — and increasing consumption of protein and whole foods,” Reader and Brown reported. “The guidelines recommend ‘ending the war on healthy fats,’ specifically suggesting consumption of ‘the bulk of fat from whole food sources’ such as animal proteins, seeds, avocados and full-fat dairy products. Officials also urge consuming protein ‘at every meal’ including plant-based protein and red meat, despite recommendations from the government’s scientific advisory committee in 2024 that people cut back on steaks and burgers.”

“The federal nutrition recommendations, which are updated every five years, give Kennedy a high-profile opportunity to make his mark on how Americans eat,” Reader and Brown reported. “While the guidelines aren’t broadly followed by consumers, they shape federal food procurement for schools and the military as well as the dietary advice that physicians give their patients.”

Roadshow Planned to Promote New Guidelines

Progressive Farmer’s Jerry Hagstrom reported that “Trump administration officials on Thursday celebrated the release of the 2025-2026 Dietary Guidelines for Americans a day earlier with an event at the Health and Human Services Department at which a roadshow to promote the guidelines was announced.”

“A series of administration officials delivered variations on the remarks they made at the White House on Tuesday, but at the end of the event Kyle Diamantis, the Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner for human foods, announced that the Dietary Guidelines for America Roadshow will begin next week with an appearance by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in Pennsylvania,” Hagstrom reported.