AMI stressed the importance of eating a balanced diet from all food groups and engaging in exercise as components of a healthy lifestyle in comments submitted to the Food Nutrition Service (FNS). The comments were submitted as FNS considers updating school meal patterns and nutrition standards in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010.
“Meat and poultry products are an important component of a healthy human diet because they provide essential amino acids, minerals such as iron, vitamins and other dietary requirements,” said AMI in a letter to Julie Brewer, chief of the policy and program development branch of FNS.
AMI noted that the organization and its member companies are pleased that the Guidelines accurately characterized meat and poultry as containing “high quality protein” and pointed to recent research which has demonstrated the role that meat and poultry can play in ensuring adequate vitamin and mineral intake, as many of these nutrients are either not present in plant foods or have low bioavailability.
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