Food Politics

About Food Politics

The United States (US) has recently released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025–2030. While the policy introduces sound recommendations for vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and limits added sugars and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) (termed “highly processed foods” within the text), it fails to reflect the contemporary scientific consensus by prioritising animal proteins, animal fats, and full-fat dairy products. Additionally, this political position follows a supplementary institutional report that dismisses previous efforts to include health equity and social determinants in the empirical evidence base, labelling such integration a “methodological deficiency”. Consequently, these guidelines depart from the international standards required for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention. Given US normative influence, this regression legitimises corporate interests, threatening transnational health governance and food and nutrition security.

The inherent contradiction within the 2025–2030 guidelines is profound.