What Ag Industry Groups Think of New Dietary Guidelines Report

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) has been busy. It recently released its 2025 Scientific Report, which highlights the critical importance of incorporating fruits and vegetables into a healthy, dietary pattern for Americans across the lifespan, but proposes a reduction of starchy vegetables in the diet.

The nearly 2-year body of work is supported by USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The DGAC’s Scientific Report will outline the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are expected to be released by USDA and HHS in 2025.

The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has been fully immersed in the process to develop the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) since it began. IFPA provided feedback on the proposed scientific questions to be reviewed by the DGAC, successfully nominated three members of the DGAC, and submitted oral and written comments to the departments throughout the process to strengthen recommendations related to fruit and vegetable consumption.

“We deeply appreciate the scientific advisory committee’s tireless work and are pleased to see that the DGAC’s report highlights the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy dietary pattern for all Americans but are concerned by the proposed reduction in starchy vegetables which contribute key nutrients for various populations at different life stages when prepared with minimal or no added sugars, sodium, or saturated fat. At a time when Americans are not meeting recommendations for fruits and vegetables, it is critical that the 2025-2030 DGA strengthen recommendations for consumption of nutrient-dense foods like fruits and vegetables,” says Mollie Van Lieu, IFPA VP for Nutrition and Health.

Starchy Situation

Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council, has been watching this unfold for some time. In December 2023, Quarles wrote a column for American Vegetable Grower on this topic. He wrote: “Here are two facts that should be obvious to anyone writing public policy. First: Potatoes are nutritional powerhouses, offering both affordability and flexibility as America’s favorite vegetable. Second: Potatoes are, indeed, a vegetable.

“You might wonder why the National Potato Council needs to spend its time telling policymakers things they should already know. Unfortunately, these obvious messages need to be communicated to counter the voices of nutrition activists who are working to undermine the nutritional benefits of potatoes in favor of other foods they deem “healthier” for Americans.”

American Vegetable Grower Editor Carol Miller reached out to Quarles to get his reaction to DGAC’s new report.

“For a country that doesn’t eat enough vegetables, why are we recommending against eating more vegetables?” Quarles asks.

Starchy vegetables include not only potatoes and sweet potatoes, but also some squashes, beans, sweet corn, peas, lentils, and several other vegetables. Several studies have shown this vegetable group to be a key source of vitamin C and Bs, potassium, fiver, calcium, and iron. And potatoes, in particular, are an effective tool to encourage children to eat more vegetables of all kind, according to a 2023 study.

“The findings indicate that the inclusion of shaped potato faces, a product commonly served in school meals, significantly increased additional vegetable consumption among children, but only when they are mixed with vegetables,” the researcher wrote in their peer-reviewed journal article.

The scientific report from the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee backed off of an earlier possible position — reclassifying potatoes as a grain. The argument for doing so, Quarles says, was based on what food you would substitute on the plate if you took away potatoes.

“By that argument, if you always substituted ice cream, then potatoes should be seen as dairy. It was untethered to science,” he says.

The DGA sets nutrition standards for federal nutrition programs, like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs.

What do you think of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s stance on starchy vegetables? Leave a reader comment below.