Dairy Slashed in New UK Dietary Guidelines

The new Eatwell Guide—the United Kingdom’s visual representation of dietary guidelines recommended by Public Health England—reduced its recommended dairy consumption from 15 percent to just 8 percent. The guide also included “soya drinks” as a suitable dairy alternative consumers can use to meet their daily recommendations. Presented as a plate divided into a pie chart, the guide places greatest emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables (recommending at least five servings per day); starchy carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice, and pasta; and limiting the consumption of sugary drinks and saturated oils. The new recommendations garnered expected backlash from the dairy industry, which launched a “3-a-day” program to promote dairy consumption despite the guideline recommendations. Released late 2015, the committee behind the US Dietary Guidelines—which were the subject of a lawsuit filed by vegan doctors for omitting pertinent health information—did not reduce their recommendations for the consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy despite many studies and reports that revealed negative health effects of consuming these animal products.