CA Dietary Guidelines Public Comments

Tammy Anderson-Wise, CEO Dairy Council of California

August 10, 2020 DairyBusiness News Team DP DHIA, News 0
Tammy Anderson-Wise

Nutrition and access to healthy foods like milk and dairy play important roles in protecting the health of people across the life span. This is why the forthcoming release of the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provides guidance to help Americans eat a healthier diet and serves as the foundation for federal meal programs, is relevant and timely, especially to all of us in the dairy industry.

 
Yesterday, Dairy Council of California submitted a second round of public comments to the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for consideration in the drafting of the final Dietary Guidelines. These comments are in response to the release of the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and the opening of a new docket inviting the public to submit comments supporting or objecting to the draft recommendations proposed by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC).
 
As promised, here is a copy of our submitted public comments that include compiled nutrition research and a link to our updated DGAC blog that provides a high-level breakdown of the dietary recommendations in the DGAC’s scientific report. You may recall that we shared the scientific report with you along with our findings a couple of weeks ago.

We invite you to consider submitting your own public comments as well. Updated every five years, the Dietary Guidelines serves as a tool for health professionals and educators to help people improve their health through nutrition. It also impacts federal nutrition programs, policies and systems, including safety net programs like WIC, school foodservice and more. The Dietary Guidelines is crucial for increasing access to nutritious food for vulnerable populations.

As the final step before the USDA and HHS issue the official 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, this a critical time to show your support for dairy’s role in the American diet. We are sharing our public comments to help guide your submission by providing you with a usable template, and we are available if you have questions. Public comment submissions for the new docket are due to the USDA and HHS Secretaries by August 13, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. ET and can be submitted online here, and/or mailed to:

 
Kristin Koegel
USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
1320 Braddock Place, Room 4094
Alexandria, VA 22314
 
As part of this new public comment period, USDA and HHS will also hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET to hear oral comments on the scientific report. Registration to present oral comments is now available and will remain open on a first come, first served basis until filled. We intend participate by listening in on the comments shared, and we encourage you to do so as well. 
Family Dinner

We know that nutrition greatly impacts the health and well-being of people across their life span and influences many aspects of the lives of children and their families. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans serves as a catalyst to spark collaborative action, nutrition policy and educational efforts, which can increase access to healthful foods and beverages like milk and dairy foods and support the adoption of healthy eating patterns for people of all ages and in all the places they live, learn, work, play and gather.

 





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