Food & Agriculture

CFA Commends Focus on Ultra-processed Foods; Questions Plan to Exclude Artificial Sweeteners, Alcohol, Sustainability from Dietary Guidelines Research

CFA submitted the following comments on federal agencies’ proposed scientific questions to inform the next (2025-2030) edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The comments underscore the importance of the Dietary Guidelines in light of a worsening diet-related disease epidemic, and express support for proposed questions that will lead to a better understanding of how ultra-processed foods affect health, and of what factors influence weight loss and maintenance. The comments suggest that the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines should also examine artificial sweeteners, and question the agencies’ plan to exclude consideration of alcoholic beverage consumption or environmental sustainability from the Dietary Guidelines development process.