The federal government is seeking comments related to the next iteration of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as it reviews the science behind healthy eating, with a plan expected next year. Dairy has always had a central role in proper nutrition, and newer science reinforces that. That doesn’t mean the process is easy, two experts said in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.

“One of the biggest distinguishing factors in this year's advisory committee is a focus on using a health equity lens to ensure that the committee considers factors such as socioeconomic position, food security, race, and, or ethnicity and culture,” said Brandon Lipps, who during his time as USDA deputy undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, oversaw the writing of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services. “With products like milk that have so many available nutrients, we can serve Americans so well. And we need to make sure that the committee thinks about the basics when they're talking about that.”

Lipps, co-founder of Caprock Strategies, was joined by NMPF Director of Regulatory Affairs Miquela Hanselman in the podcast.

USDA’s plan for modernizing the Federal Milk Marketing Order system aligns well with the principles outlined in NMPF’s own proposals, NMPF economists Peter Vitaliano and Stephen Cain said in a Dairy Defined Podcast released today. Still, analysis is ongoing, and NMPF will be suggesting improvements during a public comment period that lasts through mid-September.

“It's important that we have a national system that helps level the playing field across the country,” said Cain, NMPF’s senior director for economic research and analysis. “We do not want regulation to create winners and losers or incentivize actions that distort the marketplace or market dynamics in any way.

With FDA’s review complete, Elanco’s Bovaer is getting ready for the U.S. marketplace. But the methane-reducing feed additive’s success will be as much about economic as environmental sustainability, said Katie Cook, Elanco's Vice President of Livestock Sustainability and Farm Animal Marketing, in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.

“The biggest thing, and the thing that's most important, is not only are we making sure that we're providing an environmental sustainability practice to our producers, but most importantly we're providing them with additional profitability,” Cook said. “It's a key tool as we think about telling our dairy story and the value that our dairy products bring to consumers. But more importantly, as a producer, it's also giving you an additional revenue stream as we think about the economic viability of our farms' longer term.”