In this week’s National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Beltway Beef Newsletter, they urge producers to take action and comment on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines that were just released.
The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s report was released last week, and contained many conflicting and misleading recommendations.
For example: the Committee has endorsed the Mediterranean style diet, which has higher red meat levels than currently consumed in the U.S., yet they have left lean meat out of what they consider to be a healthy dietary pattern.
It is important for you to stay engaged and urge the Secretaries to carefully review the comments received during the comment period, review the strength of the scientific evidence the Committee used for its report, and ensure the 2015 Dietary Guidelines are not misleading, contradictory or confusing for Americans.
They also share comments from the U.S. Forest Service temporary halt on the controversial groundwater directive.
Chief Tom Tidwell of the U.S. Forest Service appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee in a hearing to discuss the Forest Service’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2016. During the hearing Tidwell said the Forest Service has temporarily halted the controversial groundwater directive.
“We’re going to go back, and we’re going to sit down with — primarily with the states, the state water engineers — to really sit down with them and get their ideas about how we can do this, and ideally how we can do it together,” said Tidwell.
The directive initially implied the Forest Service owns or manages all groundwater found under or adjacent to National Forest Land. Similar to the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to strip states’ rights with the “Waters of the United States” proposal, this directive would give the Forest Service the authority to evaluate all applications to states for water rights on National Forest Service lands as well as adjacent lands. This would place a federal approval requirement into state water rights.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council have been fully engaged, actively opposing the directive as drafted and will continue to ensure the protection of water rights on forest lands as the Forest Service does not have the legal authority over groundwater resources.