The American Heart Association is urging Americans to get more of their protein from plants, while groups more typically aligned with the Make America Healthy Again agenda are calling on the Trump administration to prioritize dietary fiber over meat in school meals.
In updated dietary guidance published March 31 in Circulation, the heart association recommends getting more protein from legumes such as beans, peas and lentils.
“Most people currently consume more protein from meat than plants, so guidance now supports multiple healthy protein choices, including plant‑rich sources, and encourages the exchange of red meat for multiple alternate protein‑rich foods, both plant and animal,” the group said.
The 2026 guidance, last revised in 2021, also places greater emphasis on choosing foods lower in saturated fat and sodium to reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, which affects more than half of American adults, according to the association’s latest statistics.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration issued updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The guidelines, which shape federal nutrition policy, encourage Americans to “eat real food” and increase protein intake up to double previous recommendations.
Kennedy, considered the leader of the administration’s MAHA agenda, and other officials emphasized red meat as a key protein source and pushed to restore whole milk in school lunch programs. Dairy and livestock groups welcomed the new guidelines. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, for example, said the guidelines would help families “learn the facts about beef’s nutritional value,” including its high protein content and essential nutrients such as iron and B vitamins.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here
The heart association’s recommendations align with some Trump administration guidance, including reducing ultraprocessed foods and added sugars, focusing on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and increasing physical activity.
Meanwhile, a coalition of 13 leaders from MAHA‑aligned groups is urging USDA to improve school meal quality before increasing protein requirements. School districts that receive federal funding for meals, such as through the National School Lunch Program, must follow federal dietary guidelines.
In a letter sent Monday to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the signers — described as “MAHA‑aligned moms, livestock producers, and nutrition and agriculture organizations” — argued that protein intake is not the primary concern for school meals.
“Analyses of school meal programs have long shown that protein adequacy is not the nutritional gap facing children,” the letter stated. “The more urgent public health priority is increasing dietary fiber and overall food quality.”
The groups also asked USDA to review the processing, production and sourcing of protein products before changing meat requirements, noting that many items served in schools — including hot dogs, chicken nuggets, burgers, mozzarella sticks and deli‑style cold cuts — are highly processed. They also requested funding to modernize kitchens to better support scratch cooking.
Signers include leaders of Children’s Health Defense, founded by Kennedy Jr., Competitive Markets Action and Moms Across America.
The School Nutrition Association, which was not involved in drafting the letter, said it supports several of the proposals. In a statement, the organization said it “fully supports the call for increased support for Farm to School initiatives and strengthening regional procurement pathways, as well as increased investments in school kitchen infrastructure and workforce capacity.”
School meal directors have said they are concerned they won’t have the resources to implement the new dietary guidelines. A January survey of 1,240 school meal program directors found 99% need more funding for staff, equipment and culinary training, while 70% said federal reimbursement rates are insufficient.
