Dairy Community Responds to Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report
February 28, 2025
NMPF submitted comments to USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services Feb. 10 to reiterate dairy’s importance as the departments begin writing the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. NMPF also encouraged its members to share their voices by participating in NMPF’s advocacy campaign Jan. 16 through Feb. 10.
The comments and advocacy campaign were the final opportunity to highlight dairy’s key role in American diets until after the next guidelines are drafted. This round of comments also gave the public an opportunity to respond to the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which was published Dec. 10. The advisory committee reviewing what Americans should be eating spent two years evaluating scientific evidence and considering stakeholder input.
The final report reflects a great deal of hard work by NMPF’s members and allies to maintain dairy foods’ central role in American diets and maintains the prominent role of dairy foods in a healthy diet, including recommending three servings daily, a big win for the dairy community. The review also made clear that expanding the dairy food group to include additional plant-based alternative beverages (outside of fortified soy beverage, which is already included) is not supported by scientific evidence.
NMPF had hammered the point that imitators do not offer the same consistent package of nutrition provided by real milk. The committee agreed, which is especially important to the school lunch program, as the dietary guidelines affect the food options available to children through school meals and other nutrition programs.
NMPF expressed disappointment that the committee only recommends consumption of unflavored milk, especially as it acknowledged that flavored milk contains beneficial nutrients, and the committee did not explicitly conclude any connection between flavored milk consumption and obesity risk. And while the committee found evidence that substituting higher-fat dairy for lower-fat dairy showed no association with cardiovascular disease morbidity, the committee still only recommends consumption of low-fat and non-fat dairy products.
NMPF will continue to urge the departments to look more fully at recent science supporting the benefits of full-fat dairy in the diet as they develop the final guidelines.
