Rifkin, J. (2023). U.S. lags behind other G20 nations at adding sustainability into dietary guidelines. Center for Biological Diversity. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/pdfs/g20-dietary-guidelines-analysis.pdf
The Center for Biological Diversity released an analysis of the dietary guidelines of the G20 countries that found the United States has fallen behind in including sustainability. The analysis found that most G20 nations include sustainability goals and recommendations to reduce meat and/or increase plant-based foods. But the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, also known as the DGA, does not consider dietary impacts on the environment or recommend reduced meat consumption, though animal agriculture is a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss.
While G20 nations have taken the lead, fewer than half of national dietary guidelines around the world include environmental sustainability. But that number has been rapidly growing over the past 10 years, with an increase in recommendations to reduce meat consumption and an emphasis on plant-based diets. Aligning dietary guidelines with sustainability goals is particularly important in G20 countries, where the current per capita consumption of meat and dairy is higher than the global average.
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