Sustainability in food-based dietary guidelines: a review of recommendations around meat and dairy consumption and their visual representation

Background: The transition away from high meat and dairy consumption and towards more plant-based diets is vital for environmental sustainability targets, including reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use associated with food. Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) communicate nutrition information to a country’s general public. However, it is unknown how different countries’ FBDG communicate reducing meat and dairy intake in the context of sustainability. Methods: To address this gap, we reviewed global consumer-facing FBDG (n = 58) in middle- and high-income countries to examine recommendations and information around meat and dairy consumption, and to explore the pictorial representation of these foods. Results: Few countries used a sustainability argument to recommend reducing meat (6/58) or dairy consumption (2/58). The proportion of dairy images within food guides was consistently higher than meat images. Some countries’ guidelines are starting to consider meat intake in the context of sustainability and implementing meat reduction recommendations. However, this is not the case for dairy, potentially due to complex nutritional implications. Conclusion: Overall, our review shows that very few countries recommend reducing either meat or dairy consumption. To reduce the environmental impact of food systems, clearer guidelines backed by current evidence are needed, which provide justification behind recommendations, actionable advice for how to meet the recommendations, and appropriate quantified food targets or limits. This well-rounded advice is imperative to empower citizens to take action on their dietary habits, to reduce global meat and dairy consumption and replace these with more sustainable alternatives for human and planetary health.