000334 Rule Puts Kids at Risk for Nutritional Deficiency

Washington - USDA released an irresponsible rule that puts the most at-risk children in further nutritional danger, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) said.

“This rule is as misguided as calling ketchup a vegetable,” said Mary K. Young, MS, RD, NCBA executive director of Nutrition. “Soy is no nutritional substitute for beef.”

The rule determines the kinds of food served in school and other government- based nutrition programs. It allows school lunch and other feeding programs to serve 100% 'vegetable protein' products in place of meat, fish and poultry. This rule moves away from the goal of a well-balanced diet, Young said.

Young said that according to government surveys, more than half of school- age children are not getting enough zinc. And the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States, affecting 7.8 million adolescent girls and women of childbearing age, and 700,000 children who are 1 to 2 years old.

“This is important,” Young says because deficiencies in both iron and zinc can decrease immunity, and impair cognitive development and physical growth. These nutrients play a critical role in a child's ability to learn.”

The department's own dietary guidelines underscore the benefits of meat. Beef's nutrients are essential,” Young said. “Beef contains a power-pack of nutrients. A 3-ounce serving of beef contributes less than 10% of calories to a 2,000-calorie diet yet supplies more than 10% of the recommended daily value for essential nutrients: protein, iron, zinc, niacin and vitamins B-12 and B-6.”

“NCBA recognizes that there are many different eating patterns that require numerous food options,” said Nelson Curry, a producer from Paris, Ky., and vice chairman of NCBA's Nutrition and Health Committee. “The key is that soy is an option, not a replacement for meat products as USDA seems to think.”

“In some cases, school lunches are the most nutritious meals that a child may receive for the day,” said Young. “In such a case, that child may not be getting the proper foods to substitute for the nutrients provided in meat. The rule could compromise the nutritional integrity of USDA's feeding programs and may result in unintended adverse effects on children's health.”

When USDA released the proposed rule last year, NCBA submitted comments expressing alarm at some elements of the proposal. Before this rule, meat dishes in school lunch programs were allowed to be only 30% 'vegetable protein.' The new rule eliminates this and allows for 100% substitution. The rule also takes away the requirement that vegetable proteins be fortified with iron and zinc.

Additional information on the nutrients in beef is available at www.beefnutrition.org

Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the trade association of America's cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation's food and fiber industry. NCBA is producer-directed but consumer-focused, with offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington D.C.

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