RFK Jr.’s Proteinaceous Food Pyramid Is a Land Hog and a Climate Disaster
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The Trump administration’s new dietary guidelines urging Americans to eat far more meat and dairy products will, if followed, come at a major cost to the planet via huge swathes of habitat razed for farmland and millions of tons of extra planet-heating emissions.
A new inverted food pyramid recently released by Donald Trump’s health department emphasizes pictures of steak, poultry, ground beef, and whole milk, alongside fruits and vegetables, as the most important foods to eat.
The new guidelines are designed to nearly double the amount of protein currently consumed by Americans. “Protein and healthy fats are essential and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines,” said Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary. “We are ending the war on saturated fats.”
But a surge in meat-eating by Americans would involve flattening vast tracts of ecosystems such as forests to make way for the hefty environmental hoofprint of raised livestock, emitting large quantities of greenhouse gases in the process, experts have warned.
Choosing beef over protein sources like beans and lentils is “a big choice we make that has real consequences.”
Even a 25 percent increase in the amount of protein consumed in this way in the US would require about 100 million acres of additional agricultural land each year, an area about the size of California, and add hundreds of millions of tons of extra pollution to an already overheating planet, according to an estimate by the World Resources Institute (WRI), a nonprofit research body.
“We are seeing millions of acres of forest cut down and agricultural expansion is the lead driver of that—adding 100 million acres to that to feed the US means additional pressure on the world’s remaining ecosystems,” said Richard Waite, the director of agriculture initiatives at WRI. “It’s already hard to feed the global population while reducing emissions and stopping deforestation, and a shift in this direction would make the challenge even harder. We need to reduce the impact of our food systems urgently and the US is an important piece of the puzzle in doing that.”
While many Americans will simply ignore the guidelines, the new framework will probably influence institutions such as schools and federal workplaces. The average American already eats about 317 pounds of meat and seafood a year, second globally only to Portugal, and ingests more protein than previous federal government guidelines recommended.
Any further increase will be felt in places such as the Amazon rainforest, which is already being felled at a rapid rate for cattle ranches and to grow livestock feed.
Red meat, in particular, has an outsized impact upon the planet—beef requires 20 times more land and emits 20 times more greenhouse gases per gram of protein than common plant proteins, such as beans. The raising of cows, pigs, lamb and other animals for slaughter is also associated with significant localized air and water pollution.
“To the extent that people follow these guidelines and eat more animal protein foods, particularly beef and dairy, they will negatively impact our environment, since the production of these foods emits way more greenhouse gases than vegetable protein foods, or even other animal foods,” said Diego Rose, a director of nutrition at Tulane University.
Choosing beef over beans and lentils is “a big choice we make that has real consequences,” said Waite. “If people want more protein there are ways to do that via eating plant-based foods without the environmental impacts. We can have our protein and our forests, too.”
“Americans already eat a lot of meat, so this promotion of more meat and things like beef tallow is puzzling to me.”
Animal agriculture is responsible for about a fifth of global emissions, with little progress made in recent years to reduce its impact as more of the world starts to demand meat products. Worldwide consumption of pork, beef, poultry and meat is projected to reach over 500 metric tons by 2050—double what it was in 2000.
In the US, much of this meat-eating is concentrated in a relatively small group of avid carnivores—just 12 percent of Americans consume nearly half of the country’s beef, a 2024 study found. But plant-based options, including “fake meat” burgers, have suffered a slump in sales in recent years amid a resurgent trend in meat-eating fueled by online “meatfluencers” and a broader desire to consume more protein.
The environmental problems associated with the meat industry were previously highlighted by Kennedy himself, when he was a campaigner on green issues. At one point, Kennedy even said the pork industry was an even bigger threat to the US than Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind.
“The factory meat industry has polluted thousands of miles of America’s rivers, killed billions of fish, pushed tens of thousands of family farmers off their land, sickened and killed thousands of US citizens, and treated millions of farm animals with unspeakable and unnecessary cruelty,” Kennedy wrote in 2004.
However, since becoming Trump’s health secretary, Kennedy has sought to elevate meat-eating, dismissing an independent scientific committee’s advice to emphasize plant-based proteins to instead favor meat.
“The Trump administration will no longer weaponize federal food policy to destroy the livelihoods of hard-working American ranchers and protein producers under the radical dogma of the Green New Scam,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in response to questions about the knock-on environmental impacts of the new guidelines.
“Americans already eat a lot of meat, so this promotion of more meat and things like beef tallow is puzzling to me,” said Benjamin Goldstein, a researcher at the University of Michigan who has studied the huge emissions associated with meat-eating by city-dwellers in the US.
“We needed to be addressing climate change two decades ago and we are still not doing enough now. If we are adding more greenhouse gases to impose unnecessary ideas of protein intake, that’s going to destabilize the climate further. It’s going to have a big impact.”
This post has been syndicated from Mother Jones, where it was published under this address.
Plant-based meat alternatives are eco-friendlier and mostly healthier, study finds
Food Foundation’s study notes that some processed ‘alternative protein’ products have high levels of saltDenis Campbell (The Guardian)
Papa Leone: 'Guerra è tornata di moda, pregare per pace'
https://tg24.sky.it/mondo/video/2026/01/21/papa-leone-guerra-e-tornata-di-moda-pregare-per-pace-1067959?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Pubblicato su Mondo @mondo-SkyTG24
Papa Leone: "Guerra è tornata di moda, pregare per pace"
Leggi su Sky TG24 l'articolo Papa Leone: 'Guerra è tornata di moda, pregare per pace'Redazione Sky TG24 (Sky TG24)
Sentinel-3 osserva le colonne di fumo degli incendi boschivi in Cile
#terra dallo spazio @ambiente @scienze
Gli incendi stanno bruciando in numerose località lungo la costa cilena, comprese le regioni di Nuble e Biobío, dove è stato dichiarato lo stato di catastrofe.
umbertogaetani.substack.com/p/…
Nvidia's Jensen Huang says AI robotics is a 'once-in-a-generation' opportunity for Europe
Europe's industrial base sets it up well to lead in the physical AI space, Huang told WEFKai Nicol-Schwarz (CNBC)
First line FIFTY PERCENT OFF
Good while supplies last
Nordio in aula sulla riforma della Giustizia
https://tg24.sky.it/politica/video/2026/01/21/nordio-in-aula-sulla-riforma-della-giustizia-1067962?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Pubblicato su Politica @politica-SkyTG24
Nordio in aula sulla riforma della Giustizia
Leggi su Sky TG24 l'articolo Nordio in aula sulla riforma della GiustiziaRedazione Sky TG24 (Sky TG24)
Witkoff: 'Vedrò Putin a Mosca, parleremo di Ucraina'
https://tg24.sky.it/mondo/video/2026/01/21/witkoff-vedro-putin-a-mosca-parleremo-di-ucraina-1067978?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Pubblicato su Mondo @mondo-SkyTG24
Witkoff: "Vedrò Putin a Mosca, parleremo di Ucraina"
Leggi su Sky TG24 l'articolo Witkoff: 'Vedrò Putin a Mosca, parleremo di Ucraina'Redazione Sky TG24 (Sky TG24)
Tra gli scartafacci di Mario Luzi sei liriche ignote esposte per la prima volta - Libri - Poesia - Ansa.it
https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/libri/poesia/2026/01/21/tra-gli-scartafacci-di-mario-luzi-sei-liriche-ignote-esposte-per_7a1e3485-0328-46d8-bf87-dc6628d82b94.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Pubblicato su Spettacolo e Cultura @spettacolo-e-cultura-AgenziaAnsa
Tra gli scartafacci di Mario Luzi sei liriche ignote esposte per la prima volta - Libri - Poesia - Ansa.it
Agende, taccuini e bloc-notes, ritratti conservati all'Archivio Bonsanti di Firenze raccontano la genesi delle opere del poeta fiorentino Mario Luzi (1914-2005), uno dei più grandi autori italiani del Novecento. (ANSA)Agenzia ANSA
Tra gli scartafacci di Mario Luzi sei liriche ignote esposte per la prima volta - Libri - Ansa.it
https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/libri/2026/01/21/tra-gli-scartafacci-di-mario-luzi-sei-liriche-ignote-esposte-per_c1a22d98-751a-404d-a98e-4337c499b102.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Pubblicato su Spettacolo e Cultura @spettacolo-e-cultura-AgenziaAnsa
Tra gli scartafacci di Mario Luzi sei liriche ignote esposte per la prima volta - Libri - Ansa.it
Agende, taccuini e bloc-notes, ritratti conservati all'Archivio Bonsanti di Firenze raccontano la genesi delle opere del poeta fiorentino Mario Luzi (1914-2005), uno dei più grandi autori italiani del Novecento. (ANSA)Agenzia ANSA
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Mastodon server update
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Hey everyone! We updated our Mastodon server to version 4.5.5 😀
Check out the latest changelogs here while they're still hot!
Happy tooting!
#TheGamersTavern #Mastodon #Fediverse #MastoAdmin
The Gamers' Tavern
The Gamers' Tavern is a cozy community talking mainly about gaming but not disdaining other topics, fully committed to the Fediverse and run by an amazing staff.Mastodon hosted on gamerstavern.online
A really interesting poll was run by Martin Lewis, a journalist and campaigner in the UK.
It asked who the UK should lean towards in the current political climate, and whether the voter was a 'Remainder' or 'Leaver' in the EU referendum.
His published results, below, show response based on platform.
Only on X did any type of voter side with the US.
I wonder what the results would be here 👀
Note: There was no way to prevent inauthentic responses in this poll.
#Poll #SocialMedia #EU #Brexit #Politics #EUPol #USPol #X #Threads #Facebook #Instagram #MartinLewis #Journalism #Data
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Artist: Eidon
Support: eidon.bandcamp.com/
Title: Order and Chaos
Album: Evanescenze
Watch live: tv.theindiebeat.fm/?t=17690011…
virginiamercury.com/2026/01/20… #politics #winning
Entrambi hanno fatto parte del team legale del dittatore che ha governato il Cile dal colpo di stato del 1973 al 1990, e di cui Kast si definisce un ammiratore.
Il presidente eletto cileno Ka...
Il presidente eletto cileno Kast affida la difesa e la giustizia a ex avvocati di Pinochet
Il 20 gennaio il presidente eletto di estrema destra José Antonio Kast ha annunciato la nomina di due ex avvocati del defunto dittatore Augusto Pinochet ai ministeri chiave della difesa e della giustizia e dei diritti umani LeggiRedazione (Internazionale)
Murdoch Paper Poll Shows Just How Bad Trump’s Second Term Is Going
Murdoch Paper Poll Shows Just How Bad Trump’s Second Term Is Going
Public confidence in the economy has slid sharply since last summer.Martha McHardy (The Daily Beast)
Blanke Panik: Weber will Abweichler gegen von der Leyen abstrafen lassen
Daumenschrauben auspacken, die Nerven liegen blank: Wer in der EVP beim Misstrauensvotum gegen die Kommission aus der Reihe tanzt, soll künftig sechs Monate kaltgestellt werden. Reden, Berichterstattung, Positionspapiere: gestrichen.Sofia Taxidis (Tichys Einblick)
Roland Häder🇩🇪 likes this.
So I unclogged sink pipes (not a Linux audio metaphor), threw away an old mop, and tested some vacuum cleaner I found in a closet. Now I'm satisfied
Photos That Capture the First Wave of Ellis Island Immigrants
Between 1892 and 1924, more than 12 million immigrants (mostly from Europe) bid farewell to their hometowns in search of better opportunities in the land of ...Alina Wang (AOL)
RE: chaos.social/@epicenter_works/…
Today the @EUCommission unveiled its proposal for a Digital Networks Act (#DNA)... and it has far-reaching implications for Europe’s internet.
Despite being framed as a “technical update,” our member @epicenter_works's first analysis shows the proposal could dismantle key net neutrality safeguards, centralise political power, and threaten an open and neutral internet.
Read the full analysis 👇
epicenter.works (@epicenter_works@chaos.social)
Today the EU Commission published the long-awaited Digital Networks Act. We analysed it immediately. Our first take: dangerous. The proposal threatens #NetNeutrality weakens independent regulators, and opens the door to network fees.chaos.social
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Daniel Dale: "Here is our highly subjective list of Trump’s top 25 lies of 2025.
We chose some because the president repeated them particularly often, some because they were about notably consequential topics, and some because they were especially egregious in their distance from reality":
cnn.com/2025/12/27/politics/an…
#Trump #dishonest #unreliable #unethical #politics copy: @renewedresistance
All’origine degli Frb con Fast
Almeno alcune sorgenti di lampi radio veloci risiedono in sistemi stellari binari. La prova è stata trovata grazie al radiotelescopio Fast, l'occhio celeste cinese. Lo studio si basa su quasi venti mesi di monitoraggio di Frb 220529A, un lampo radio veloce e ripetitivo, a circa 2,5 miliardi di anni luce di distanza. All'origine, un sistema binario composto da una magnetar e una
Au Japon, la plus grande centrale nucléaire du monde a repris du service, quinze ans après la catastrophe de Fukushima
Ce redémarrage concerne dans un premier temps un seul des sept réacteurs de la centrale de Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, dont la capacité totale de production est la plus importante de la planète.Le Monde avec AFP (Le Monde)
No-one is in the office this morning. If I don’t move for a few minutes, the light goes off, and it is *dark* today.
I suspect that everyone else has thought better of working and is hibernating in a nest of torn up newspapers. I am a fool.
Partner With Us | China Trade Shows, Logistics & B2B Services
Looking to partner on China trade shows, logistics, sourcing, or business services? Join our platform and reach international SMEs engaging with China.China Business Forum
ondarossa.info/newstrasmission…
#ordadoro
Category is ... propaganda LGBT
Il 30 dicembre 2025 il Kazakistan si aggiunge ai vari paesi che hanno seguito la Russia nel passare una legge contro la 'propaganda LGBT' che censura la discussione di tematiche relative alla comunità queer sui media e ne elimina qualsiasi forma di r…Radiondarossa
#FotoVorschlag
'Tatort // Crime scene'
Okay hier sind schon mal Reifenspuren - doch wer war der Täter? 🔍🕵♀️
Okay, here are some tyre marks – but who dunnit? 🔎🕵
#Texture #Environment #Photography
Sotto 15 km di ghiaccio, l'oceano di Europa aspetta cibo dalla superficie. E ora abbiamo capito come può arrivare: il ghiaccio salato affonda, trascinando nutrienti creati dalle radiazioni di Giove. Un processo lento ma continuo che potrebbe spiegare come un oceano alieno, completamente al buio, riesce comunque a nutrirsi. E forse a ospitare vita microbica.
Ora, dico: andiamo a vedere o no? 😀
futuroprossimo.it/2026/01/ocea…
L’oceano di Europa mangia ghiaccio radioattivo
Il ghiaccio di Europa non sta fermo. Affonda, portando con sé sali densi e nutrienti. E forse, a 100 km di profondità, qualcosa li mangia.Gianluca Riccio (FuturoProssimo)
Andre123 🐧 reshared this.
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"In his decision, Daniel Greenberg, the standards commissioner, found there had been a high number of breaches and that it was of high value, but he accepted that this had been inadvertent."
Greenberg should resign, he is a useless Fascism enabler.
Roland Häder🇩🇪 likes this.
Verizon Wastes No Time Switching Device Unlock Policy To 365 Days - Slashdot
An anonymous reader quotes a report from DroidLife: When the FCC cleared Verizon of its 60-day device unlock policy a week ago, we talked about how the government agency, which is as anti-consumer as it has ever been at the moment, was giving Verizon…mobile.slashdot.org
Remember that comment I had yesterday on that #AISlop presentation I attended recently? Well, presenter will now need to add dangers of ads along with telling us how great #AISlop is with "sponsors" who may have products to "enhance" your research.
> OpenAI to start offering chatbot ads to advertisers, The Information reports
reuters.com/business/media-tel…
Armin Hanisch
in reply to Herr Mess • • •