The Economics Of... Plant-Based Diets
Vegetarian, South Beach, Vegan, Keto… American diet culture is dizzying! Plant-based diets have recently come to the forefront, focused on eliminating animal products and refined carbohydrates, which encourages weight loss and cardiovascular disease prevention. A Nielsen Homescan survey in 2017 “found that 39% of Americans are actively trying to eat more plant-based foods.” They also found that dollar volume growth of produce and vegan product consumption was about seven times that of the total food and beverage category (excluding produce) from 2014 to 2017. While search engines, social media, and documentaries have spread information about the food we eat at the speed of light, there is a consistent theme across the most well-known diets: limiting refined carbs and red or processed meats. What are the main differences among these diets? The South Beach diet, a variation of the Keto diet, is famous for tightly restricting consumption of the macronutrient carbohydrates. Vegetarians abstain from animal meat, and vegans extend this avoidance to all animal byproducts, such as dairy. Mediterranean and Vegan diets are both variations of a plant-based diet, each with their own main differentiators from the traditional guidelines. Currently ranked U.S. News & World Report’s #1 in Best Diets Overall and #1 in Best Plant-Based Diets, the Mediterranean diet prioritizes seafood over poultry or red meats as a source of healthy fats and protein. Veganism’s differentiator from a traditional plant-based diet, detailed below, is that it does not tightly restrict refined carbohydrates.
In the 2011 documentary Forks Over Knives, based on the New York Times #1 bestselling book and wellness movement of the same name, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a nutritional biochemist from Cornell University and a former top surgeon of the Cleveland Clinic, explore the power of dietary change on the human body. Specifically, they compare their independent and exhaustive studies on animal proteins and dairy products in relation to chronic diseases and general human wellness. As a disclaimer, many of the patients they observed during dietary treatments had a goal of reduced reliance on prescribed heart disease and diabetes medication, though the doctors presented evidence for both prevention and reversal of these chronic diseases as a result of switching to a plant-based diet.
American dietary habits are notoriously unhealthy, but what do our government’s nutritional standards really look like, and how do they compare to a plant-based diet? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines emphasize whole fruits, a variety of vegetables, whole grains, and varied protein along with fat-free daily products and limited sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. These directives align with diets that are successful in providing essential nutrients and avoiding cardiovascular diseases. However, it is important to recognize that the USDA’s MyPlate personalized nutrition plan for meeting food group targets equates the following: 1 cup of 100% fruit juice with 1 cup of whole fruit, 1 cup of whole grain cereal with ½ cup cooked brown rice, and 2 ounces of cooked lean beef with 1 ounce of nuts or seeds. Clearly, this can be misleading to the consumer who reaches for Frosted Mini-Wheats in the grocery store and thinks “well, it’s whole grain!” (which it is) even though it has 12 grams of sugar, or 24% of the recommended daily value, per serving (which it does). According to the Cleveland Clinic, 100% fruit juice is not an equal substitute for whole fruits because of the loss of natural fiber, not to mention it often contains as much added sugar as an 8-ounce can of soda. These complications aside, the USDA’s 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identifies the shortcomings of American’s dietary habits in comparison to their own recommendations, falling shorter still of the standards of a plant-based diet. Illustrated below is the national average subgroup intakes of seafood and whole grains, the two main dietary shifts recommended in a Mediterranean and/or plant-based diet. Figure 2-6 shows seafood intake far below that recommended for each age and sex group (note that the guideline elsewhere reports at or above-level consumption of meat, poultry, and eggs as a source of protein.) Figure 2-5 shows whole grain intake far below and refined grain intake far above that recommended for each age and sex group.
How does nutrition in our school meal programs compare to the USDA’s recommendations and the standards of a plant-based diet? The USDA’s National School Lunch Program (NSCP) has a major impact on in-school nutrition as it “provided low-cost or free lunches to 29.7 million children daily at a cost of $13.8 billion” in 2018, according to their Economic Research Service. Their Children’s Food Security and Intakes from School Meals Final Report, published in 2010, summarizes the impact of NCSP and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) on 1st-12th grade Americans in 2005. We can compare the MyPlate plan for each age group that participated in these programs to the MyPyramid equivalents provided by the breakfast programs (IV.6b) and lunch programs (IV.7b), all while considering the provided proportion of 24-hour MyPyramid equivalents provided by on-menu school foods (IV.8a).
When the average food group amounts reportedly consumed by participants during the breakfast and lunch programs’ corresponding meals are combined and adjusted proportionally, the staggering inconsistency between USDA’s nutritional recommendations and their school meal programs become clear. Firstly, there is approximately 60% over-serving of dairy products to age group 4-8 and 30% under-serving of meat products to age group 13+, but the most worrisome inconsistency is the extreme over-serving of grains across the board. The 24-hour adjusted quantity of grains provided by on-menu school foods is 13.3 ounces, which is 266% the recommendation for ages 4-8, 222% that of ages 9-13, and 133% that of ages 13+. For those observing a plant-based diet, there are major concerns with these programs’ daily meals considering that red and processed meats make up 59% of breakfast and 47% of lunch protein. Additionally, non-whole/refined grains make up 89% of breakfast and 95% of lunch grains. The nutritional values made available by the USDA’s school meal programs are, therefore, in direct opposition to their own standards.
The Federal Register claims that “[h]alf of secondary school students consume at least one snack food per day at school[…],” and the CDC found that “[f]ewer than five percent of school districts have [snack] food and beverage policies that meet or exceed the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” So, what are our legislators doing about it? In response to these findings and general concern for American children’s diets in schools, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 was established to require the USDA’s establishment of nutritional standards upholding “competitive foods” in schools. This act, however, is just another set of recommendations and voluntary standards for the NCSP and SBP. Besides this 2010 act, the only additional modern legislation on school meal programs was a bill introduced in January of 2020 seeking to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act of 1946, which would serve “to require that only a school food authority that had a negative balance in the nonprofit school food service account […] shall be required to establish a price for paid lunches.” Not exactly a contribution to nutritional standards reform.
There are unlimited resources on how to evaluate, choose, and stick to a lifestyle diet, including a massive commercial industry and political sphere worth scrutinizing. Plant-based diets like a Mediterranean diet and veganism are growing in popularity because of their ability to defend against cardiovascular diseases and promote overall wellness, so if switching or slowly adjusting to this type of diet interests you there is plenty of additional information in the Forks Over Knives documentary and on their website. As nutritional sufficiency remains a global issue, with particular challenges in the U.S., the foundation for change is the same as with so many crises: education. Whether it be through at-home dietary adjustments, exposure to media on the dangers of nutritional imbalance, or legislation reform, prioritizing children’s health resources and habit-forming is the most effective assurance of wellness for future generations.
""[...] 39% of Americans are actively trying to eat more plant-based foods."" -- Nielsen Homescan Survey, 2017
Works Cited
“DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS 2015-2020 .” Dietary Guidlines,
United States Department of Agriculture, Dec. 2015, www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2019-05/2015-2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf.
Fulkerson, Lee. Forks Over Knives. Netflix, 2011, www.netflix.com/title/70185045.
“Kellogg's® Frosted Mini-Wheats® Bite Size Cereal - SmartLabel™.” SmartLabel, smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000318290.
“Mediterranean Diet.” Oldways, oldwayspt.org/traditional-diets/mediterranean-diet.
“National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.” Federal Register, 28 June 2013, www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/06/28/2013-15249/national-school-lunch-program-and-school-breakfast-program-nutrition-standards-for-all-foods-sold-in.
“National School Lunch Program.” USDA ERS - National School Lunch Program, 20 Aug. 2019, www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/child-nutrition-programs/national-school-lunch-program.aspx.
“Plant-Based Food Options Are Sprouting Growth for Retailers.” Nielsen, 13 June 2018, www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2018/plant-based-food-options-are-sprouting-growth-for-retailers/.
Potamites, Elizabeth, and Anne Gordon. “Children’s Food Security and Intakes from School Meals.” National Agricultural Library Digital Collections, Mathematica Policy Research, May 2010, naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/42320/PDF.
Team, Family Health. “Is 100% Fruit Juice as Healthy as It Sounds?” Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic, Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic, 19 Dec. 2019, health.clevelandclinic.org/is-100-percent-fruit-juice-as-healthy-as-it-sounds/.