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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1525011
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding the Impact of Obesity on Micronutrient Metabolism View all articles

Considering the Nutritional Benefits and Health Implications of Red Meat in the Era of Meatless Initiatives

Provisionally accepted
Melissa Kavanaugh Melissa Kavanaugh 1*Diana Rodgers Diana Rodgers 2Nancy R Rodriguez Nancy R Rodriguez 3Frédéric Leroy Frédéric Leroy 4Ty Beal Ty Beal 5
  • 1 The University of Iowa, Iowa City, United States
  • 2 Global Food Justice Alliance, Boston, United States
  • 3 University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States
  • 4 Vrije University Brussels, Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
  • 5 Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (United States), Washington, DC, Washington, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Driven by perceived health and environmental benefits, initiatives to remove red meat from recommended eating patterns are increasingly being implemented in United States institutions, including schools and hospitals. While these efforts aim to address important issues, they may inadvertently lead to unintended consequences, particularly regarding essential nutrient intake for certain populations. This perspective considers the nutritional value of red meat, examines its potential health benefits, and highlights nutritional risks when intake is reduced or eliminated. Red meat is a nutrient-dense food that provides highly bioavailable protein and several essential micronutrients often lacking in the diet, including iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. These nutrients can be limited or absent in many plant-source foods as well as in some animal-source foods. Red meat's micronutrient profile is especially valuable for young children and women of reproductive age, including pregnant women. In addition, the protein density of red meat is beneficial for individuals managing obesity and older adults at risk of sarcopenia. Many epidemiological studies suggest potential associations between excessive red meat consumption and increased risk of certain chronic diseases, but this evidence does not conclusively implicate red meat in the development or progression of chronic disease. The nutritional and health implications of reducing red meat consumption must be balanced against the low certainty of evidence used to discourage red meat intake when making dietary recommendations.

    Keywords: red meat, Nutrient density, undernutrition, Obesity, plant-source

    Received: 08 Nov 2024; Accepted: 02 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Kavanaugh, Rodgers, Rodriguez, Leroy and Beal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Melissa Kavanaugh, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.