Dietary Guidelines For Americans Solidifies The Benefits Of Beef And A Healthy Diet

Jan 04, 2021

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) today commends the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for finalizing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), which recognizes the role of lean beef in a healthy diet across all life stages and ages.

Updated every five years, the DGAs serve as the foundation for federal nutrition policy and shape the recommendations found on USDA’s MyPlate. While there is no one-size-fits-all diet, “Beef is one of Americans' favorite foods, and science consistently shows lean beef can be the cornerstone in a variety of healthy diets," said NCBA President Marty Smith. "Now more than ever, the key to proper nutrition is giving people practical and realistic advice, to help create balanced diets that work for them – featuring foods they love, like beef, which pairs perfectly with other nutrient-rich foods,”

The DGAs emphasized the importance of making every bite count by choosing nutrient-rich foods most often; that is easy to do with beef. No other protein food delivers the same nutrient-rich package as beef in about 170 calories, on average, per three-ounce serving of cooked beef. Beef is a good source of ten essential nutrients including high quality protein, iron, zinc, and choline with more than 30 lean cuts.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.