New Guidelines Push For Lower Meat Consumption: Pepijn Van Houwelingen MP (FVD) Submits Parliamentary Questions

5 December 2025

The Health Council, which provides independent advice to the government and parliament on public health, has published new dietary guidelines aimed at reducing meat consumption and promoting plant-based proteins. These recommendations will be incorporated by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre into an updated Schijf van Vijf (the Dutch equivalent of healthy-eating guidelines), which will be widely deployed for educational purposes from next year onward, including in primary schools.

Forum for Democracy (FVD) is concerned about the growing steering and behavioural influence stemming from the Health Council’s guidelines. Whereas nutritional education should focus on objective information, today’s recommendations increasingly appear to form part of a broader agenda, commonly known as the “protein transition”. The Health Council even calls for “strong government policy” to make plant-based food the norm. This sets a troubling precedent in which the government increasingly interferes with the individual freedom of Dutch citizens to choose their own food.

The guidelines are remarkable in themselves, given that there is no universal scientific consensus within nutritional science on the alleged health benefits of plant-based diets. Animal-based foods contain essential nutrients which are difficult to replace, while plant-based proteins are absorbed less efficiently. This makes it particularly important that guidelines applying to the entire population are based on scientific sources free from ideological or activist aims. It appears that this is not the case here. According to the Health Council, having less meat on our plates would make people “healthier” and keep the planet “liveable”.

FVD is asking the government for clarification about these new guidelines, their underlying scientific basis, possible influence from interest groups and international agendas, and the implications for public health and the Dutch agricultural sector. Food choices belong to the private sphere, and the government should exercise extreme restraint. For this reason, Pepijn van Houwelingen is submitting parliamentary questions on behalf of Forum for Democracy.

Below you will find the full set of parliamentary questions:
 

Written questions to the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport regarding the new guidelines of the Health Council stating that the Dutch should eat more plant-based foods

1. Is the minister aware that the Health Council advises, among other things, reducing the consumption of red meat to a maximum of 200 grams per week and making plant-based food the norm because it is said to be healthier for people and better for the environment?
    
2. What is the minister’s view of these new guidelines from the Health Council?
    
3. There is extensive debate within nutritional science about what constitutes a healthy diet; how does the minister define “a healthy diet”?
    
4. The Health Council calls for “strong government policy” to make plant-based food the norm; what concrete measures is the government considering?
    
5. Does the minister agree with Forum for Democracy that there is still no consensus within nutritional science on what is healthy and unhealthy, due in part to the complexity of the human body and varying research outcomes, and that caution is therefore needed when prescribing normative dietary patterns for the entire population?
    
6. Is the minister aware that, to compensate for protein shortages resulting from eating less red meat, the Health Council recommends consuming legumes (plants with seeds in a pod such as beans or peas)?
    
7. Is the minister aware of various studies in nutritional science showing that plant-based proteins are absorbed less effectively by the human body?
    
8. Is the minister aware of the Health Council’s recommendation in this advice to eat a handful of peanuts every day?
    
9. Is the minister aware of various studies in nutritional science showing that peanuts often contain anti-nutrients, such as lectins, which inhibit the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, for example, zinc and calcium?
    
10. Is the minister aware of various studies in nutritional science showing that unprocessed red meat contains nutrients that are exceptionally well absorbed by the human body?
     
11. Is the minister aware of various studies in nutritional science showing that unprocessed red meat contains essential micronutrients that are far less abundant in plant-based foods?
     
12. Is the minister aware of various studies in nutritional science showing that animal-based foods have a higher nutrient density than plant-based foods?
     
13. How does the minister ensure that scientific advice, such as that provided by the Health Council, remains independent from political ideologies, activist movements and commercial lobbying groups?
     
14. Can the minister rule out that the Health Council’s guidelines are influenced by interest groups, NGOs or international agendas aimed at reducing meat consumption, for instance because reducing meat consumption is considered “good for the climate”?
     
15. What potential public-health consequences does the minister foresee in terms of the risk of deficiencies of certain nutrients in diets that are heavily plant-based?
     
16. What economic consequences does the government foresee for Dutch farmers if these recommendations are followed in policy?
     
17. In the minister’s opinion, where is the line between promoting public health and respecting individual freedom of choice?
     
18. Does the minister agree with Forum for Democracy that a person’s diet is ultimately their own responsibility and that it is undesirable for the state to engage in nudging, such as through taxes, and other forms of behavioural steering to reduce the consumption of animal proteins?
     
19. Does the government share Forum for Democracy’s view that the freedom to eat meat must always be guaranteed?
     
20. Can the minister explain how it will be ensured that the upcoming update of the Schijf van Vijf, a tool widely used in primary education, contains only scientifically substantiated health information and that there will be no ideological or activist-driven behavioural steering? For example, by teaching young children that eating red meat is bad for them or for the planet.
     
21. Does the minister agree with Forum for Democracy that health advice should be based solely on health information, and therefore that health advice must never be based (even in part) on considerations related to climate policy?
     
22. Is the minister aware of the so-called “protein transition”? How would the minister briefly describe the protein transition?
     
23. In the minister’s view, is such a protein transition necessary? If so, why?
     
24. Is this Health Council advice part of that protein transition? In other words, is one of the aims of this advice to contribute to the protein transition?
     
25. Can the minister answer these questions as soon as possible and separately from one another?