PediatricDigest: Latest from Food Politics: The push for more protein (a euphemism for meat): good, bad, indifferent?

By Marion Nestle

September 18 2025

The push for more protein (a euphemism for meat): good, bad, indifferent?

Protein is very much on the food agenda these days despite evidence that hardly anyone needs more of it than they are already getting. This has led to at least two trends.

I. Nutritional hilarity.

Here’s my current favorite example (you can’t make this stuff up).

II. Eat more meat!

The Institute for Food Technology says Hunger for Protein Fuels Meat Mania.

Meat and poultry purchases and consumption have reached an all-time high thanks to a dramatic drop in those trying to avoid meat (from 37% in 2022 to 22% in 2025) coupled with consumers’ ongoing interest in adding protein to their diets, according to new research from FMI, The Food Industry Association. Datassential reports that protein is now the most sought-after healthy descriptor on restaurant menus.

The protein craze raises a couple of important questions. The meat industry wants you to eat more meat. Should you?

I. Do protein requirements need to be increased?

A review of protein requirements says

Across populations, the findings reported for protein and indispensable amino acid requirements in our review both reflect and depart from the current DRIs. Additionally, studies in our review reported higher protein requirements for children and pregnant individuals than current DRIs…Notably, we found sparse literature on indispensable amino acid requirements across populations; therefore, consistency of these findings is unknown.

The answer: probably not. Most people are already consuming twice recommended amounts.

II. Is eating too much protein harmful?

A review of the literature—The harms of high protein intake: conjectured, postulated, claimed, and presumed, but shown?—finds no harm from eating excessive amounts of protein.

Results from some observational studies have shown associations of high(er) protein intakes with a variety of negative health outcomes. However, we know of no compelling evidence that, in otherwise healthy humans, there is an upper level of protein intake where the conjectured harms of HP intake have been demonstrated.

Overall comment: if you think you need to eat more protein, go ahead. We can debate whether this will help but it’s unlikely to do harm. As for me, everything in moderation, including protein. It’s way down on my list of nutritional worries.

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