The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has just come out with a new comprehensive report of recommendations that Americans should be following for optimum health. The reports are shared every five years and aim to keep up with current knowledge about health and wellness. The 571 page long report uses science to determine both what is the most healthy option for human consumption, as well as for the environment.

This time around the report suggests that the way that Americans are eating is having severe health repercussions and that there needs to be a dramatic change. The report suggests an even more dramatic cut in sugar consumption than was previously suggested, as well as a move towards eating more vegetables and less meat.

Naturally the companies in the soda and meat business who make their money off of these products wholeheartedly disagree and have been speaking out against the new guidelines.

The North American Meat Institute has gone as far as to suggest that the nutritional guideline report is flawed. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee had suggested that high sugar foods should be taxed to reduce their consumption, and the American Beverage Association claimed that the panel went too far “beyond its charge and authority” in doing so.

Dave Warner of the National Pork Producers Council expressed their willingness to set things straight.

“We’ll go through it with a fine-tooth comb. We certainly will then talk to lawmakers about it and express to them our concerns. We’ll certainly educate them about the role of meat, especially lean meat, in a healthy diet,” he said.

The panel also reversed what was previously believed about cholesterol. It is no longer believed that getting cholesterol through a food source like eggs has any effect on the blood cholesterol levels whatsoever.

The panel summarizes a healthy diet as one that is high in vegetables, fruits, seafood, whole grains, low fat dairy, legumes, and nuts, moderate in alcohol, and very low in sugar.