The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The group alleges that the recent dietary guidelines were developed through a flawed and non-transparent process.
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Founded in 1985, PCRM is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for plant-based diets and alternatives to animal-based research. The lawsuit claims that HHS and USDA formed a "secret panel" marked by conflicts of interest, failing to adhere to the established procedures for updating dietary guidelines.
PCRM is seeking a court ruling to annul the current dietary guidelines and compel the agencies to implement new guidelines compliant with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). PCRM President Neal Barnard, MD, criticized the involvement of the meat and dairy industries, stating, "The government allowed the meat and dairy industries to ghostwrite the Dietary Guidelines."
Typically, the Dietary Guidelines are informed by the work of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), which consists of 20 experts who conduct a comprehensive review of the evidence over two years. Their findings culminate in a 400-page report every five years, though HHS and USDA are not mandated to adopt their recommendations.
Concerns arose last August when abstracts from DGAC's work were retracted from a prominent nutrition conference. This fueled fears that the extensive scientific report would be overlooked by the new administration under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Following this, Kennedy announced that the updated guidelines would be significantly shorter, raising additional alarms among DGAC members.
When the 2025-2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released in January, they included significant errors, according to DGAC members. The lawsuit also accuses HHS and USDA of violating FACA by forming a second review panel without public notification or proper vetting of members, several of whom have connections to the beef, dairy, and egg industries.
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, an obesity medicine physician and former DGAC member, expressed disappointment that nearly two years of work went unrepresented in the guidelines. Christopher Gardner, PhD, a nutrition expert from Stanford University and also a former DGAC member, welcomed the lawsuit, stating the situation demonstrates a departure from standard scientific practices. He noted, "Standard scientific and political procedures are not being followed, and you can't let that lie."
Gardner emphasized the importance of remaining transparent in the nutritional science process, cautioning that the public may become confused about reliable dietary guidance as a result of these developments.