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October 2012
The McDougall News letter
Volume 11, Issue 10
George McGovern’s Legacy: The Dietary Goals for the United
States
George M cGovern, former Dem ocratic Se nator from South Dakota, died
October 21, 2012 at age 90. A true pione er, ahead of his time, he foug ht
for hardworking pe ople a nd was the driving force behind the 1977 Die tary
Goals for the Unite d Sta tes, als o known as the “M cGovern Report.” T hese
new g uidelines on ea ting were expected to have similar health-cha nging
effects as the 1964 S urgeon Ge neral’s Report on Smoking. The prevale nce
of sm oking cigarettes has be en re duced from 50 perce nt of the adult population in the s eventies to fewer than 20 perce nt today.
At the time the McGovern Re port was publishe d, animal fat intake from
red mea t, poultry, and dairy foods wa s at an all time hig h and s o was the
death rate from heart disease a nd strokes. T he M cGovern Report found
that, "…there is a great dea l of evide nce a nd it continues to accumulate,
which strongly implica tes a nd, in som e insta nces, proves tha t the major
causes of dea th a nd disability in the United States are rela ted to the diet
we ea t. I [Dr. Hegs te d of Harvard School of Public Health] include coronary
artery disease, which accounts for nearly half the deaths in the Unite d
States, several of the m ost im porta nt forms of ca ncer, hypertens ion, diabetes a nd obesity as well as other chronic diseas es."
According to the M cGovern Report, “T he que stion to be asked, therefore,
is not why should we cha nge our die t, but why not? W hat are the risks as socia ted with ea ting less mea t, less fat, less satura ted fat, less choles terol,
less s ugar, less sa lt, and more fr uits, vege tables, unsaturate d fa t, and cerea l
products —es pecially whole grain cereals? There are none tha t can be identified a nd im por tant be nefits can be expe cte d.” T he
die tary goals s et forth a pla n tha t would increase the intake of s tarche s (whole grains, leg umes, a nd root vegeta ble s), green a nd
McDouga ll’s Connect ion wit h the McGov ern Report
When the bipartisa n Sena te Se lect Committe e on Huma n a nd Nutrition Ne eds publishe d the McGovern Re port in 1977, I
(John M cDougall, MD) was 30 years old and s tudying to be come a n inter nist at the University of Hawaii. Based on my observations as a sugar plantation doctor on the Big Island of Ha waii between 1973 a nd 1976, I had already dis covered the importa nce of diet. My first-generation patients (the Filipinos, Ja panese, Chine se, and Koreans) were trim and healthy as a result of following a diet base d on rice a nd vegetables with no da iry products a nd very small amounts of meat. My conclusions
were reinforce d whe n I witnesse d my second-, third-, a nd fourth-generation patients aba ndon their parents’ traditiona l,
healthy, starch-bas ed die ts for meat, da iry and other junk, which led them to be com e fa t and s ick.
In 1976, I left the sugar plantation and re turne d to the University of Ha waii for more educa tion. One great fortune was my
discovery of the Ha waii Sta te Me dical Library, filled with thousands of s cie ntific reports confirm ing my observations from the
sugar pla nta tion. T he publication of the M cGovern Report in 1977 was “icing on the cake.” The truth was out, and I believed
October 2012
The McDougall News letter
Volume 11, Issue 10
yellow non-starchy vegeta bles, a nd fruits. Saturated fats (mea t, milk, butter, and che ese), salt, and s imple s ugars would be re duced
in the American die t.
Industries Went Ballistic with the McGovern Report
Various food indus tries presented their s ide of the argument at a se cond sena te hearing in 1977. T his mee ting resulte d in a watered down version of the Die tary Goals, with less e mphasis on reducing mea t a nd dairy products. The American M edical Ass ociation a lso proteste d the McGovern Re port, beca use it said that providing this bas ic k nowle dge on wha t we s hould eat mig ht interfere with the medical doctor’s right to prescribe, even thoug h doctors then, and now, know nothing a bout human nutrition. T he
effects of the McGovern Re port were widesprea d, and as a result, the consum ption of m eat, eggs, and milk fell, te mporarily.
Indus tries foug ht back successfully with every mea ns at their dis posa l, including hiring lobbyists, purchasing me dical a nd nutrition
experts, launching huge a dvertising campa igns, driving the nutrition educa tion of our childre n with the ir bia s, and funding nutrition
research that favored their products. The ir success ca n be mea sured by the US food ava ilability data, which documents a n increase
in mean daily tota l e nergy intake from 2,057 kca l in 1970, to 2,405 kcal in 1990, and 2,674 kca l in 2008. W e ea t m ore oil, meat, and
dairy now tha n whe n the M cGovern Report was publishe d in 1977. T he incidence of obes ity a nd type-2 dia betes has both double d
in tha t same period of time. T hese fig ures are unde nia ble evidence that industry won and Americans lost.
The McGovern Report als o s tressed the urgency to act: “Is che mic heart disease, cancer, diabetes and hy perte nsion are the diseases that k ill us. T hey are e pidemic in our population. We cannot afford to te mpor ize. We have a n obligation to inform the public of
the current s tate of knowle dge a nd to assis t the public in making the correct food choices. To do less is to avoid our res ponsibility.”
Americans Have the Rig ht to K now t he Tr uth a bout Diet
Beca use the dietary goa ls of the McGovern Re port of 1977 a nd those of indus try were s o different, the USDA did not adopt the
recomm enda tions. However, in 1980 the USDA partnered with the Health and Huma n Services de partme nt to is sue the first e dition
of the Die tary Guidelines for A merica ns, which eve ntually be came the USDA Food Pyramid and is now represe nte d as My Pla te.
These g uidelines are published every five years and serve as the corners tone of fe deral nutrition policy a nd nutrition e ducation
activities. Unfortuna tely, the Dietary Guidelines for A merica ns are written with the health of the agribusinesses in m ind and e mphasiz e the importa nce of cons uming meat, fish, and dairy products.
One of government’s most importa nt jobs is to protect the comm unity against foreig n a nd domestic threats. The food industr y is a
dome stic threat. Government intervention is ne ede d to s top the abuse of A merica n citizens. Or as sta ted in the McGovern Re port,
“It is the responsibility of government a t all levels to take the initia tive in creating for Americans an appr opria te nutritiona l a tmosphere—one conducive to improveme nt in the health and quality of life of the Am erican pe ople.”
Regulation Can Help Solve Our Current Hea lth Cris es
Policies of industry deregula tion, most impleme nte d over the pas t two deca des, have led to collapse, beginning in 2007, of the financial a nd hous ing indus tries. Our current government is now trying to help US citiz ens damage d by greedy businesse s (s ubprime
mortgage lending institutions and Wa ll Street). Lack of g overnme nt controls (deregulations) of the food, pharmaceutica l, and medical bus iness es has be en the ma jor contributor to the hea lth crises A merica ns are now fa cing. T he US g overnment has a n oblig ation
to help rig ht these ma jor wrongs, too, beg inning with the programs a lready under their juris diction.
The US government has financia l and legal control over the kinds of food tha t are fed to our children, to our military, and to the
poor. T hirty perce nt of childre n a nd 50 perce nt of our military persona l are overweig ht. Undernea th a ll that excess fa t is a lot of
sickness. If Senator George M cGovern ha d prevaile d, this catas trophic sta te of bad hea lth would have never occurred. Unfor tunate ly, the food industry is still winning a nd the predictions are tha t 44 percent of Am ericans will be obese (not just overweig ht) by
the year 2030.
The future, however, is ours to change. W ith government a ction similar to that propose d by Senator George M cGovern 35 ye ars
ago, almost overnig ht, s tudents a nd s oldiers can be made as fit as long dista nce runners are today, a nd as str ong as the mighty
gladia tors who fought in Roman colis eums were two mille nniums ago. Both of these winning classes of athle tes have always been
powered by starch-ba sed, near vegan die ts, not by red mea t, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, sugar, and oil—the current diet of children
and s oldiers.
October 2012
The McDougall News letter
Volume 11, Issue 10
The “leas t privilege d” in any s ociety s uffer mos t. Obes ity is m ore prevale nt am ong African Americans (44 perce nt) than among
Mexica n A merica ns (39 percent) a nd Non-His panic Whites (33 per cent). Subsidy food programs for the poor include food s ta mps
and coupons from the WIC (W ome n, Infants a nd Children) programs; thes e benefits are not redee mable for alcohol or toba cco.
Products with animal-derive d ingredients, vegetable oils, and simple s ugars mus t a lso be outla we d from these programs. T he 1977
McGovern Repor t ma de it clear tha t “without Government and indus try commitme nt to good nutrition, the A merica n people will
continue to ea t themselves to poor health.” And they have. The future health for individuals, a nd the e conom ic and military s uccess of America, depe nds on fixing the malnutrition that is devasta ting our great socie ty.
Stop Treating Dietary Diseases with Dr ugs a nd Surgery
The 1977 McGovern Re port made it clear that modern me dicine ca nnot save us: “As a Na tion we have com e to believe that medicine and medical te chnology ca n s olve our major hea lth proble ms. The role of s uch im por tant factors as diet in ca ncer a nd he art
disease has long been obscured by the emphasis on the conques t of these diseases thr ough the miracle s of m odern me dicine.
Treatment not preve ntion has bee n the order of the day. The problems ca n never be s olve d m erely by more a nd more me dical
care.” Current medical therapy means: fa t, sick pe ople carry around a bag full of drugs and have their bodies marked by surgical
scars. The res ults from trea ting chronic diseas es are never good health.
Over the past 40 years s cience has confirmed the fa ct that dietary dis eases ca nnot be prevented or cured with medical
intervent ions (tests, pills a nd s urgery):
1) Aggressive drug therapy increases weight ga in, death, heart disease, and hypog lycem ia for pe ople with type-2 diabe tes.
2) Treatment of e levate d cholesterol with sta tins does not save lives (exce pt for the very s ick).
3) Multiple Sclerosis me dica tions costing $40,000 per year do not s low disability.
4) Lowering blood press ure with me dications does not save lives (exce pt for the very s ick).
5) Hear t surgery (by pass a nd a ngioplasty) does not save lives in typical patients: those treate d for chr onic diseas e
(atheros cler osis).
6) Treatments for comm on dietary ca ncers, like breas t, pros tate, ovary, and colon, fa il to save lives.
7) Efforts for early dete ction (PSA, mamm ograms, colonos copies, etc.) of dietary diseases bring m illions of people into the
medical bus inesses, ca using great harm a nd little, if any, good.
Expert Pa nels with Power Are Needed
The business of treating dietary diseases with drugs and surgery ca n be curtailed by forming e xpert pa nels to prote ct the aver age
American, who has no time or expertis e to s tudy and a nalyze the effects of me dical prescriptions. These pa nels must be g iven respect and the power to stop dang erous tes ts a nd treatments. For e xample, bas ed on expert pa nel re com mendations, Medicar e
Medica id could s top today re imburseme nt to doctors, la boratories, a nd hos pitals for PSA tes ts or heart surgeries for chronic coronary artery disease (heart disease ).
Unfortunately, these days our e xpert pa nels are ignored. Me dical practice has not cha nged since the US Preventive Services T ask
Force (USPSTF) and the American Ca ncer Socie ty told doctors to stop recomme nding PSA tes ting (prosta te cancer scree ning); these
intrusive blood te sts will continue without an authority like the US g overnme nt ste pping in. T he Cochrane Collaboration re commended in 2012 the end to r outine mammograms, but no one is lis te ning. Whe n the America n College of Cardiology a nd the American Heart Associa tion told cardiologis ts to s top operating on sta ble coronary artery disease in 2007 they responded with no reduction in the one million angioplasties performe d ea ch year in the US.
The “Free Market” Will N ot Regulate Itself
October 2012
The McDougall News letter
Volume 11, Issue 10
The goa l of bus iness is profit, ofte n regardless of the conse que nce s to others. It is nearly im poss ible for pe ople to act in ways contrary to the ir mea ns of making money. Fortunate ly, there are business s ettings where good nutrition for people and avoiding harmful tes ts and treatments do res ult in profit. For e xample, se lf-insure d businesses (like W hole Foods Market) save money by suppor ting the ir hea lthy, treatment-free, employees. (W hole Foods Market ha s ma de ma jor inves tme nts in educa ting their employee s
through the McDouga ll Program a nd other health-prom oting programs.) For-profit Ka iser Perma ne nte is a nother example. T his
medical ins urance plan makes money by colle cting premiums a nd cutting expens es. Obvious ly, they win whe n their clients ar e
properly nourishe d a nd disease-free. However, mos t m edical ins urance com panies operate under a different bus iness mode l.
Twenty-five years ag o I went to medical insurance com panies like Blue Cross/ Blue S hield of California a nd A etna to ask for cov erage of my dietary approach to heart disease ra ther tha n by pass s urgery. It made s ense to m e to s pend $5,000 on e duca tion instead
of s pending $90,000 on surgery—especia lly whe n my appr oach ha d better results. O ne insura nce compa ny representative e xplained to me that they would ra ther pay for the surgery be caus e this way they did not have to depe nd upon the patient’s cooperation; simply by operating, the pain (a ngina) was relieved, s ome tim es. I countered that many people would ra ther ea t beans than
have their ches t cracked ope n. The next insurance compa ny representative gave m e a more believable reason for staying with the ir
current lucrative practices. He expla ine d, “John, you don’t get it. We (the insurance com pany) take a piece of the pie. T he bigg er
the pie, the bigger our share.” Profits come from the sick nesses and the treatm ents that always follow a ba d die t.
America’s Healt h Crisis M ust Be S olved Quick ly
The McGovern Report began with, “We mus t ack nowle dge and recognize tha t the public is confus ed a bout what to eat to ma ximize health…. T he public wants s ome g uidance, wa nts to know the truth, a nd hopefully today (a da te in January, 1977) we can lay
the cornerstone for the building of be tter hea lth for all Americans, through be tter nutrition.”
For America to become healthy, the US g overnme nt has a n obligation to unam big uously inform physicians and patients that meat,
dairy, vegetable oils, a nd simple sugars are making pe ople fa t and s ick. A s cie ntific tr uth m ust be told: A diet of starches, vege tables, a nd fruits will ca use loss of excess body weight without hunger a nd cure comm on dis eases, including heart disease, ty pe -2
diabe tes, a nd ar thritis. Althoug h 35 years has gone by, it is s till not too la te. T he time has come to im pleme nt Se nator Ge orge
McGovern’s Die tary Goals for the United State s with a ve ngeance for the billions of pe ople s icke ned and killed by the food and
medical indus tries.
2012 John M cDo ugall All Right s Reserved
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