There’s a moment when people notice the shift—usually before they can explain it. For many in the US, that came with the government’s updated dietary guidelines, which put a hunk of red meat right up near the top of the food pyramid. It’s the kind of visual cue that lands fast: steak on a pedestal, and suddenly “healthy” starts to look a lot like “more.”
Misryoum newsroom reported the update is causing a stir because it flips the tone of public health messaging from decades past, which generally warned people to limit red meat. Sara Bleich at Harvard University—who previously worked at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) under former President Joe Biden—called it “very confusing for consumers.” She’s pointing at the obvious problem: when the image is dramatic, it encourages people to overread it. “You look at that image… and naturally you’re going to say, ‘Oh! I can eat as much steak as I want,’” she says.
But beef’s return isn’t just policy. It’s been brewing culturally, with the carnivore diet getting constant airtime online, along with kitchen trends that treat animal fats like they’re secret weapons. Influencers promote beef tallow; and Misryoum editorial team noted that Robert F. Kennedy Jr—the leading public health official in the US—boasted online about frying his Thanksgiving turkey in a vat of beef fat. In a social media video, he referred to “MAHA way – beef tallow.” The same “eat real food” slogan is tied to a broader push that blurs the line between food traditions and evidence.
Scientifically, though, the fundamentals haven’t really flipped. Beef and other red meats remain among the most climate-intensive foods, and study after study links red meat consumption to poorer health outcomes, including heart disease and cancer. In March, Misryoum newsroom reported the American Heart Association published its own dietary guidance encouraging people to limit red meat consumption and opt for plant-based proteins. It’s not that people have suddenly forgotten those findings; it’s that a lot of today’s conversation is driven by identity, not nutrition labels.
Part of the story is that meat stopped being “the supporting actor.” Around the 19th century, industrialisation, refrigeration, and rising incomes made meat more accessible in Western countries, and the pattern spread elsewhere. In the US, annual beef consumption peaked in 1976 at nearly 43 kilograms (around 94 pounds) per person a year. About a decade later, the European Union hit 25 kilograms per person annually. Then the slide began. Concerns about saturated fats and
heart disease grew, while “white meat” marketing—chicken and turkey—positioned leaner options as a healthier substitute. One serving of ground beef contains almost 7 grams of saturated fat, while a serving of ground chicken contains less than 2 grams. That branding push was so aggressive that even the US National Pork Board ran a campaign in 1987 to call pork “the other white meat,” despite it containing nearly the same amount of saturated fat as beef
and being, unequivocally, a red meat.
Beef’s health reputation took another hit in 2015, when Misryoum editorial desk noted that the World Health Organization convened 22 researchers from 10 countries to assess the link between red meat and cancer. After evaluating more than 800 studies, the group labelled processed meats such as bacon and ham as carcinogens—meaning they cause cancer. The analysis suggested that every 50 grams of processed meat eaten daily—about one sausage—increases the risk of colorectal cancer by about
18 per cent. “It is about the same amount of risk increase as second-hand smoke,” says Kurt Straif at Boston College, who was part of the WHO research group. The same team classified red meat as a probable carcinogen, with less consistent evidence, and it also flagged stronger colorectal cancer associations at the higher daily intake of red meat: eating 100 grams daily—roughly the size of a deck of cards—was linked with a 17 per
cent higher risk.
Still, the question people ask at the grocery store is simpler: if beef is back, is there any amount that’s actually okay? Misryoum analysis indicates that while beef can provide nutrients like iron, vitamin B12, and zinc, the health trade-offs are hard to ignore. Straif says there really is no safe amount of processed red meat to consume, and the same is probably true for unprocessed red meat. “All these pathways are totally unrelated to
saturated fat,” Dariush Mozaffarian at Tufts University in Massachusetts said, pointing to evidence involving TMAO—a compound gut bacteria produce when breaking down choline and L-carnitine, both prevalent in red meat. TMAO can inflame blood vessels and interfere with cholesterol handling, and it’s been implicated in colorectal cancer. After reading that, you might think you’re done, but the real world isn’t that clean. A smell of grilling fat in the driveway can make the science feel
far away.
Misryoum newsroom reported that US beef consumption rose almost 9 per cent between 2015 and 2021—latest data available—and that updated dietary guidelines will likely push it higher. Misryoum editorial team also noted that around 25 per cent of Australians reported increasing their red meat consumption in 2025, while less than 10 per cent did so in 2013, and that UK intake has generally declined since 1980 with some recent upticks in certain groups. The drivers aren’t entirely clear, but Misryoum newsroom reported cultural and political dynamics matter, including a growing obsession with protein and a pushback movement that frames meat as masculine strength and dominance.
So what’s the practical takeaway? Mozaffarian puts it plainly: “Highly processed foods rich in starch, sugar and salt – you would be better off eating red meat compared to those.” On the other hand, red meat isn’t the “best” choice just because it isn’t the worst. For most people, the baseline is already plenty of protein without turning steak into a daily habit. You could say the guidance isn’t telling everyone to stop eating beef tomorrow—more like it’s forcing a question: if you’re going to eat it, you probably want to do it less often, and not as the centerpiece every night, even if the picture in the food pyramid is impossible not to notice.
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