In a push toward health and sustainability, the advisory committee for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans has recommended a significant shift towards plant-based proteins. As part of the five-year update process, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) prepared a scientific report for the government.

The DGAC has advised that the upcoming guidelines “include more nutrient-dense plant-based meal and dietary recommendation options,” urging Americans to favor beans, peas, and lentils over traditional animal proteins. This pivot towards plant-based eating isn’t just a footnote in the committee’s recommendations—it’s a central theme, with the DGAC proposing to reorder the protein foods category to place plant-based sources at the forefront, ahead of meat, eggs, and dairy products.

Dr. Anna Herby, a nutrition education specialist with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, lauds the recommendations, stating, “Encouraging Americans to avoid red and processed meats, and to finally recognize beans, peas, and lentils as preferred sources of protein will help save hundreds of thousands of lives a year from colorectal cancer, heart disease, and other diet-related diseases that plague our country.”

The DGAC continues to advocate for limiting foods high in saturated fats, recommending that total saturated fat intake remain below 10% of daily calories. They suggest a shift towards lower-fat plant-based foods and advise against the use of coconut and palm oils to adhere to this guideline.

Additionally, the DGAC’s insistence on plain water as the primary beverage emerges as a response to the over-promotion of dairy, which is particularly problematic given the high prevalence of lactose intolerance among diverse American populations. Dr. Herby emphasizes this point: “Recommending water as the drink of choice is a win for everyone’s health, especially for many people of color who suffer disproportionately from lactose intolerance.”

If these recommendations are adopted, they promise to mitigate the epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer linked to saturated fats and other harmful ingredients found in meat and other animal products.

As the DGAC concluded its seventh and final public meeting on October 21-22, the implications of their scientific report, which serves as the foundation for the upcoming dietary guidelines, are profound. This marks a critical juncture in the evolution of dietary guidelines in the U.S., potentially catalyzing a shift towards a healthier, more sustainable dietary future.