Taking Questions from the Media
by Kimberly Hartke, Publicist, Weston A. Price Foundation
Yesterday, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Department of Agriculture finally announced the 2010 dietary guidelines. The official “food policy” of our nation doesn’t just guide our food choices, but dictates what ingredients go into manufactured food. It also determines what food is available through grocery stores and institutions, both public and private.
As I drove up to the event, I was delighted to see a small group of protesters, a couple sporting cow costumes. They were protesting the USDA’s recent approval of genetically modified alfalfa, and the pending decision to “unleash” genetically engineered salmon on the unsuspecting public.
It is so ironic that the same agency that lectures Americans on what to eat, ostensibly for the sake of our health, is the one approving all of these dangerous gene manipulated foods.
Food & Water Watch Protesters Draw Attention to GMO Dangers
I have worked on the dietary guidelines on behalf of the Weston A. Price Foundation for the past year. Here is a link to multiple testimonies given at the public hearing last summer protesting the further restriction of meat, cholesterol, salt and animal fat.
In spite of the numerous scientists who have raised concerns about these strictures, the Agriculture Secretary said yesterday, that the science underpinning these guidelines is indisputable. What he doesn’t know is that plenty of science has been ignored or misinterpreted in the process. And it haskicked off a big dispute. The announcement of these guidelines in the year 2011 instead of 2010 was in part due to the thousands of public comments that the agency had to wade through in order to shape the final guidelines.
Dissenting scientists have made attempts at opening up dialog, by publishing papers, holding a saturated fat symposium, even having face to face meetings with officials.
The one victory for traditional diets that I determined yesterday, is that none of the materials given out, and none of the speeches used the term “plant-based diet.” Thankfully, this loaded rhetoric popped during the trial balloon period.
After the presentation of the guidelines, there was a question and answer period.
When asked by Peter Farnham, the representative of Nutrition and Metabolism Society about why the health benefits of low-carb diets were not included, Dr. Robert Post, Deputy Director of the Center of Nutrition Policy and Promotion at the USDA, acknowledged that many comments came in about this, but there is “no scientific evidence” to support it.
This, I am sure is news to all the low carb researchers around the country, whose funding is now at risk because of the government’s blind eye to their progress.
After the press conference, I spoke with Dr. Richard Feinman, a cell biologist and professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. He told me that studies show that carb restricted diets do work, often better than low fat diets. He went on to say that numerous large studies of low fat diets failed to show any benefit.
Of interest to raw milk proponents, the Executive Summary of the new guidelines explicitly proscribes raw milk and raw milk cheese. It states:
“In addition, some foods (such as milks, cheeses, and juices that have not been pasteurized, and undercooked animal foods) pose high risk for foodborne illness and should be avoided.”
Is it any wonder that old fashioned dairy farms and artisan cheesemakers have a tough time making it in this political food climate? With instructions like this, a health inspector is likely to assume guilty until proven innocent.
One reporter from Politico admitted she was confused over why officials demonize meat in such a round about way, by warning against solid fat. She just didn’t understand why the guidelines don’t come right out and say, “don’t eat meat or stay away from hamburger.”
The answer from the stage? “We just tell you to eat fish two or three times a week. It’s another way of saying it.”
Kimberly Hartke is the publicist for Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition education non-profit based in Washington, DC.
Weston A. Price Foundation in response to the USDA guidelines is holding a press conference on February 14th to announce our alternative guidelines, Healthy 4 Life, see more details:
Nutrition Foundation Releases Alternative Dietary Guidelines
Here is the paper published by concerned scientists about the ignored and misapplied science used for the guidelines:
In the face of contradictory evidence: Report of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee
Here is a link to the USDA materials released yesterday:
Read the Full Article Here: http://hartkeisonline.com/food-politics/usda-dietary-guidelines-press-conference/