Less Beef, More Beans: Dutch Dietary Guidelines Champion Shift to Plant-Based Eating

The Health Council of the Netherlands has published new dietary guidelines that call for a transition to plant-rich eating patterns for nutritional and environmental benefits, with meat and dairy alternatives a prominent feature.

The Netherlands has become the latest country to urge its citizens to eat less meat and more plants, with new food-based recommendations aligning with the goals of the protein transition.

The national guidelines call on the Dutch to limit red meat consumption to 200g per week, which is twice as much as the recommended amount in the Planetary Health Diet framework, though much lower than current intake levels in the country (over 475g a week).

Over 320g of the meat consumed weekly by the average local is processed, and the Health Council of the Netherlands now recommends eating as little of this as possible.

Instead, people should increase the amount of plant proteins they eat, with an emphasis on legumes and nuts. “The committee concludes that a more plant-based and less animal-based diet is better for health and benefits the environment,” the nutrition body said, echoing its counterparts in Finland, Norway, Germany and Austria.

The guidelines will be translated into information on healthy eating patterns by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, which will publish a new Wheel of Five – an ideal dietary pattern that ensures both nutrient provision and health benefits – in the spring.

Netherlands asks consumers to embrace legumes, nuts and seeds

This is the first time the Netherlands has updated its guidelines in a decade, revising its recommendations on a range of protein sources.

Most notably, the council advises eating 250g of legumes like beans, peas and lentils per week. That marks a near fivefold increase from current consumption habits, according to the latest Dutch National Food Consumption Survey.

Men consume twice as many legumes in the Netherlands as women (71g a week versus 35g; however, both are way below the new recommendations. That said, the average per capita consumption of legumes has increased from 35g per week between 2012-16 to 52.5g in 2019-21.

Meanwhile, the daily recommended intake for unsalted nuts has been expanded from 15g a day to a range between 15-30g. Currently, the average Dutch consumer ingests 14.6g of nuts and seeds (including spreads) daily; only 5g of these are unsalted.

The committee said lowering red and processed meat intake and increasing legume and nut consumption represent the biggest step towards healthier and more sustainable diets. It added that people should eat a variety of legumes to promote a broader intake of nutrients.

Moreover, the experts evaluated plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy as part of their assessment, stating that these products “can fit into a healthy and sustainable diet, but the extent to which they do so depends on the rest of the diet”.

Its supplementary documents cited data showing that less than half of the Dutch population consumes meat or dairy alternatives (with average weekly intake at 42g and 98g, respectively), and that since 2010, mean consumption rates and frequencies have increased for both sets of products. And last year, intake of conventional meat fell to its lowest level on record.

Dutch dietary guidelines call for protein ratio in favour of plants

The Health Council of the Netherlands outlined how meat and dairy analogues are a “very diverse group of products”, thanks to the different protein sources and fortification rates, so their nutritional composition varies greatly.

Recent research by food awareness organisation ProVeg found that the share of plant-based meat products that meet the nutrition guidelines for ready-made foods has tripled from 9% in 2023 to 26% now. In contrast, only 11% of conventional meat products fit the criteria.

Of the vegan products tested, 84% were high in protein and 83% low in saturated fat. Around two-thirds were deemed to be a source of fibre (65%), vitamin B12 (67%), and iron (68%), too.

The Dutch dietary guidelines address some major pain points of food-based dietary guidelines identified by researchers in a study earlier this year, including the lack of guidance on nutrient intake from plant-based sources and integration of meat and dairy analogues. Advice to limit meat on account of its environmental impact is also often unclear.

The scientific committee that developed the new guidelines highlighted that plant-based meat and dairy contribute to less than 1% of the total dietary impact on greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, land use, and other environmental factors.

For context, conventional meat accounts for 27% of the emissions and land use linked to Dutch diets, and dairy is responsible for 23% of the greenhouse gas output.

“Comparing equal amounts, all meat alternatives have lower values than all types of meat for greenhouse gas emissions, water use, terrestrial acidification and marine eutrophication,” the scientists noted.

The revised guidelines are in line with the findings of the council’s 2023 advisory report on protein transition, which called for 60% of protein intake to come from plant-based sources (up from the current 40%). This ‘protein split’ target has been adopted by retailers like Lidl, Aldi and Albert Heijn, which have rolled out blended meat and dairy products to offer consumers an off-ramp from animal proteins.

“The commission emphasises the urgency of this shift,” the Health Council said. “A strong government policy that works towards the sustainable production of healthy food and a physical, social and economic environment in which healthy and sustainable food is the standard, is important to support consumers.”