Would you change your diet - even if it damaged your health - to save the environment? Australians have never been asked the question, although it's a fair bet most would answer with a resounding "no."

What if the environmental benefit was uncertain and the data said to support it held secret?

A hand-picked group of Australians on a secretive sub-committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council have answered yes for you and are determined you will not get to make up your own mind.

The council, a government-appointed body responsible for raising the standard of individual and public health in Australia, publishes dietary guidelines on how much of certain foods people should eat.

The current guidelines, published in 2003, are under review and the council has issued a draft consultation document. It explains how the NHMRC uses the nutrient and energy characteristics of different foods to make recommendations about appropriate diets and also reveals that the NHMRC has included the ''environmental sustainability'' of certain food groups in its criteria.

There's a major beef over dietary guidelines