Red meat industry questions high priority on sustainability in Australian Dietary Guideline review
The red meat industry has questioned the inclusion of environmental impact, accessibility, and food affordability as considerations in new official dietary advice.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is reviewing guidelines about what Australians should eat to meet nutritional requirements.
During its background work, the independent statutory agency identified dietary patterns, processed foods, nutrition needs at different times of life, and protein-rich foods as priority areas for research.
It also identified sustainable diets, which it defined as accessible, affordable and equitable with low environmental impacts, as a very high priority for consideration.
But some farmers, such as Australian Beef Sustainability Framework chairman Mark Davie, want more information about how that sustainability will be measured.
“We think the role of the guidelines should be to firstly focus on nutrition,” he said.
The central Queensland grazier said the current Australian Dietary Guidelines, which had been in place since 2013, acknowledged the complexities of sustainability.
But he was not confident the review would do the same.
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