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By Marion Nestle

January 13 2026

The MAHA Dietary Guidelines IV: Eat more meat!

The Eat Real Food Website says “We are ending the war on protein. Every meal must prioritize high-quality, nutrient-dense protein from both animal and plant sources….” But here’s what comes up first and is clearly the first priority.

And here’s an exultant RFK Jr on X:

Protein is well understood to be a euphemism for meat. I’ve already written about how most people already eat twice the protein needed so advice to eat more of it is unlikely to do anyone any good.

And the document, Daily Servings by Calorie Level, makes it clear that you have to eat meat if you are going to reach the level of protein intake recommended. For this, I am indebted to Kevin Klatt, who posted this on X.

What’s wrong with recommending more meat?

It’s healthier getting protein from plant sources.
The way we produce meat pollutes the environment with pesticides and herbicides to grow their feed.
It also presents major food safety hazards (see Eric Schlosser’s update on Fast Food Nation)
Cattle burp methane and are the single largest food source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Beef cattle are raised in CAFOs under crowded and dirty conditions.
The meat industry exploits workers.
Consolidation in the meat industry keeps prices high (Tyson’s just agreed to an $82.5M settlement in a beef price-fixing lawsuit)
Producing meat the way we do is not sustainable and adds to inequities.

Of course, sustainability and equity are non-topics for this administration. But they matter and should very much be on the table for discussion.

We already eat plenty of meat—more than 100 pounds per capita per year of red meat alone (according to USDA). We don’t need to be eating more.

Correction

In my first post on these dietary guidelines, I said:

Some of the instructions don’t make sense: “Consume meat with no or limited added sugars?” Who does this?

Several readers wrote to object. Renata M, for example, said she could think of so many examples, she just had to say something.

BBQ sauce
Ketchup
Teriyaki sauce
Other popular “Chinese” foods
Brown sugar-glazed pork chops
Pasta sauce
Sloppy Joe’s
Brines and marinades
and more, if honey and maple syrup are considered added sugars [they are]

Oops. Sorry about that. Thanks!

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Columbia University Epidemiology Grand Rounds

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