The government’s crusade against red meat and dairy products dates back to the 1970s when it was decided that low-fat and no-fat franken foods were keys to a healthy diet. The result? Obesity. Heart disease. Diabetes. And a drop in meat consumption that has many questioning whether the government got it wrong all those years ago.

Photo Credit: Nina Teicholz

for animal protein and dairy fats as part of a healthy diet. In fact, she wrote a book on the subject titled, “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet.”

Recently, Teicholz was disinvited from speaking on a panel at the upcoming National Food Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Instead of having Teicholz offer an alternative position on human nutrition at the conference, they have invited Maureen Storey, president and CEO of the Alliance for Potato Research and Education, to speak on the nutrition science panel.

I’m sorry, but while potatoes are tasty and go well with a steak, spuds are hardly the nutritional powerhouse that beef is, and instead of promoting more carbohydrates in the diet, perhaps we need to get back to the basics and talk about how proteins and saturated fats fuel our bodies, keep us fuller longer and help us maintain more consistent blood sugar levels.

READ: “The money behind the fight over healthy eating” by Chase Purdy and Helena Bottemiller Evich for Politico

According to a press release on the change, “Concerns were raised about Teicholz's credibility, given the significant inaccuracies in her work."

Photo Credit: Amazon

responded saying that she was disappointed in the changeup. Teicholz said, "To my mind, this is an effort to exclude uncomfortable realities, where you simply don't allow alternative viewpoints to be part of the conversation. Silencing the conversation won't work forever.”

It’s time for the beef industry to rally together and show support of Teicholz’s efforts to champion for beef. A petition has been started on her behalf with a goal of getting her back on the panel to allow for a healthy debate. The petition has 250 signatures, but she will need more to get the change we are looking for.

Sign the petition here.

In a mass email to her colleagues, which was also sent to me, Teicholz writes, “I hope you will consider signing and maybe spread the word. What made me realize that it wasn't me--and that they really didn't want any alternative viewpoints--was the fact that the conference organizers also nixed the Harvard MD whom I suggested to replace me. Instead, they appointed an industry flack from the potato industry (and formerly the American Beverage Association). That's crazy. 

“This nonsense must stop! They need to allow real conversation and debate. The insider game in D.C. that drives our country's nutrition policy (and hence, School Lunches, WIC, and everything taught by every MD, nutritionist and dietician in the country) only survives because dissenting views have been excluded. The views of honest science-based experts have not been heard and need to be!”

Teicholz also provides a few tweet samples to copy and paste to help spread the word. Check them out below:

Let’s let the National Food Policy Conference know about the huge mistake they made in disinviting Teicholz to participate on their panel. We know nutrition is big money, and there’s far more to be made from processed sugar and carbohydrates, but America needs to get back to the basics to regain its health and that includes beef, butter and cheese.

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Penton Agriculture.

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