Committee does not appear to be modeling situations where total vegetable consumption is increased
In its latest comments to the committee working on recommendations that will form the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, NPC this week called on the group to consider modeling situations where vegetable recommendations overall are increased.
“The DGA process is a huge issue for the potato industry. We need to be utilizing every tool at our disposal, including through NPC, Potatoes USA and APRE, to ensure a solid outcome for growers,” said Kam Quarles, NPC CEO.
In comments to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), NPC notes that “while the DGAC is modeling situations where vegetable subcategories are reduced, they do not appear to be modeling situations where total vegetable consumption is increased. The protocol notes that ‘Past Committees examining the relationship between dietary patterns and health outcomes across the lifespan found consistent evidence that dietary patterns associated with beneficial outcomes include higher intakes of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, lean meat and poultry, seafood, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils and lower intakes of red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened foods and drinks, and refined grains.’ The DGAC could consider modeling situations where vegetable recommendations overall are increased,” NPC writes.
NPC also cautioned the committee against recommending consumption decreases to the starchy vegetable subgroup, noting the detrimental impacts of lower consumption of potassium and fiber – two nutrients found in America’s most consumed vegetable, potatoes.
The full letter can be found here.
