Australian vegan groups criticise government nutrition guidance

While the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) revise their dietary guidelines for publication later this year, Vegan Australia and the Vegan Society of NSW are lobbying for a name alteration to be made to the “lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes” category appearing in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. “We reject the assumption that meat be the default option for sourcing protein” said the groups in a joint review of the draft guidelines. They want the fourth category to be entitled “protein” so that people choosing kinder diets are not discriminated against. They also argue that “more positive language” should replace government warnings such as “care needs to be taken if you restrict animal foods in your diet”. In addition, the Australian vegan groups are urging the NHMRC to disregard studies about calcium and osteoporosis which have been funded by parties which profit from the dairy industry. They say “there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that dairy foods are superior to plant foods whether it be for calcium intake or dietary protein.” Britain’s dietary advice comes in the form of the Eatwell plate , which classes the protein group as “meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein”, while the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently presents the groups as “fruits”, “vegetables” “grains” “protein” and “dairy”. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) continue to promote Power Plate which demonstrates how a plant-based diet can provide all the nutrients a person requires.