The USDA food pyramid was revamped in 2005 as My Pyramid, with more accurate but also more confusing information about recommended nutrition. Now it's been revamped again, and the pyramid is gone. The new graphic is called MyPlate, which somewhat resembles a pie chart laid on a table setting.
At a news conference Thursday morning, First Lady Michelle Obama, together with Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, unveiled the new icon, called My Plate. The plate features four labeled sections: two larger, equally sized sections representing vegetables and grains, and two smaller sections for fruit and protein. Perched on the right side is a smaller circle for dairy — perhaps for a cup of yogurt or low-fat milk — and to the left sits a fork, completing the full dinner-plate effect.
"When it comes to eating, what's more useful than a plate, what's more simple than a plate?" Obama said. She called the new design "a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods we’re eating."
The balance between simplicity and comprehensiveness is never easy. Critics say the new MyPlate does not give enough information. Link to story. Link to website. -via J-Walk Blog
I wonder if governments truly understand their audiences for this sort of thing?
But these food plates/pyramids reflect the country's production, and not necessarily what's healthiest for you to eat.
(PS: In case you are wondering about the salt; I used to know somebody who could not have any salt, at all. Try it out some time, like bread without salt (or anything else for that matter), and you start to realize how much salt is in our food.)
As a researcher who has become interested in social stratification and health behaviors (as well as educating myself about where my food comes from), I can say that many people here don't realize how much "deprogramming" NEEDS to be done in our society with regards to what we should be eating. That includes the food our own government has told us we should be eating simply because the food product is government subsidized to keep certain companies in power.
Obviously many individuals commenting on this post have had the benefits of education and culture-specific upbringing. Unfortunately, you are not the main targets of food companies seeking to turn profit by selling cheap calories. (Instead, you are the targets of the pseudo-healthy products.)
In regards to the "healthy ethnic" cookbooks, the goal is not to exclude European-Americans but to educate individuals who come from cultures where calorie and fat heavy foods have predominated for generations. The biological value of high calorie/fat foods was still relevant for many individuals who's recent ancestry has been characterized by intense manual labor. Drawing out the healthy components of these traditional meals helps people make the transition from "comfort food like mom cooked" to more health-conscious cooking habits.