Where Are the Dietary Guidelines for Vegans and Vegetarians?

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled their new dietary guidelines for Americans, a process the agencies go through every five years. I'm pretty impressed by the new recommendations: The USDA and HHS suggested that folks switch to a more plant-based diet, incorporating lots more veggies, whole grains, seafood, low-fat milk, dairy products, and some lean meats. The agencies also recommended decreasing the intake of sodium and saturated and trans fats. These guidelines will be used to create a new food pyramid by the end of the year. Given the guidelines' "mostly plants" theme, I'm guessing they'll do Michael Pollan proud.

The new guidelines definitely offer up a more earth- and health-friendly diet. If folks followed the recommendations rigorously, you could bet we'd see a pretty significant trimming of Americans' waistlines and carbon footprints. But the guidelines also make the assumption that all Americans are omnivores. So where, then, are the recommendations for those seeking to eliminate animal products from their diets entirely?

Switching to a diet based on plants rather than beef certainly creates benefits for the planet. As Mother Jones' Kiera Butler recently wrote, "For every 100 calories of energy put into producing conventional beef, from farm to supermarket shelf, you only get six calories back to eat. Compare that with apples, which yield 110 calories, or raw soy: an amazing 415." Not to mention, raising livestock creates about 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the energy it takes to produce meat and the emissions animals spew, it's clear that beef carries a pretty significant carbon hoofprint.

Meat's environmental toll prompts some folks to switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet. But eating a diet based solely on plants can be difficult, especially when first starting out. As I wrote previously, recent converts might embrace the bevvy of vegetarian, faux-meat goods like veggie burgers, fakin' bacon, and Tofurky. But these items are heavily processed and take a lot of resources to produce, which means they can carry even higher carbon footprints than beef. And for folks who have never eaten an animal-free diet before, finding the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and nutrients can be difficult.

Which is where USDA and HHS-backed guidelines for vegans and vegetarians would be helpful. These agencies already offer a few tips for folks switching to a meatless diet, but they don't go nearly as far as the comprehensive guidelines updated every five years for omnivores. America's vegetarians and vegans could benefit not only from extensive, science-backed dietary guidelines, but also from their own food pyramid. Sign our petition asking the USDA and HHS to create a vegan-friendly food pyramid.

Photo credit: Muffet via Flickr