Overview
- The 2025–2030 guidance from HHS and USDA flips the traditional pyramid, emphasizes whole foods, raises protein targets to about 1.2–1.6 g/kg, and explicitly includes red meat and full‑fat dairy.
- The cap on saturated fat remains at 10% of daily calories, and the guidelines newly call for limiting or avoiding ultra‑processed foods, with meal‑level emphasis on getting protein at each meal.
- Independent experts recommend curbing red meat to roughly one to three servings per week and avoiding processed meats, citing cardiometabolic and cancer risks and environmental concerns.
- A cardiologist quoted in coverage advises choosing lean cuts, favoring lower‑temperature cooking to reduce harmful compounds, and reserving red meat for occasional meals alongside fish, poultry, and plant proteins.
- The accompanying scientific report disclosed committee members’ financial ties to beef, pork, and dairy groups and described an accelerated review, developments that have intensified questions about the process as the guidance shapes school, military, and SNAP menus.