On the afternoon of December 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services quietly released the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). Makes sense to bury the news over the holidays when the recommendations are anachronistic on arrival. Alarmingly, the guidelines did not take scientists’ advice to update caps on added sugar and alcohol, or, critically, to integrate sustainability considerations when deciding what to eat. Farmers and nutritionists alike now agree that the foods that are best for human health can also be a boon to healthy soil, water, and air, yet this symbiotic approach to eating has yet to be adopted by the U.S. Government.

The impact of our diets on healthcare costs and human wellbeing has never been more clear than it is today. “The co-morbidities so often cited as heightening the risk of severe infection or death from coronavirus—such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease—are inextricably linked to unhealthy diets,” notes Dorothy Shaver, RD, Food for Climate League Board Member. Countless COVID-19 deaths in the United States are attributed to underlying causes related to obesity—an epidemic that has, prior to COVID-19, robbed too many Americans of both quality and quantity of life, and in the context of coronavirus may triple one’s likelihood of hospitalization. Similarly, we are gaining more and more evidence that diet, climate, and health are inextricably linked, with rising temperatures and unpredictable, violent weather systems causing disruption to our food supply, water and air quality, and providing fertile environments for new pathogens and infectious diseases.

The DGAs could empower Americans to take control of both their personal health and environmental sustainability through nutritious, climate-smart food behaviors. Instead, following the DGAs in their current form won’t go far enough to abate the obesity crisis and will actually exacerbate the climate crisis. If America’s dietary guidelines (even pre-update) were adopted globally, we’d need approximately 3.5 Earths to produce that amount and mix of foods, notes EAT’s recent report, “Diets for a Better Future.” We’re all about positivity and promise in 2021, but no amount of optimism can scrounge up 2.5 extra Earths.

Read the full article about better food behaviors by Eve Turow-Paul and Sophie Egan at Food Tank.