Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
I am a product of the Illinois public school system (K-12th) in the 1990's and therefore know all-too-well about the illustrious "Food Pyramid" some feminist nutritionist in a pant-suit and clunky jewelry (think: Barbara Streisand in Prince of Tides) conjured up to justify her graduate degree and subjected the rest of us to. I was reminded about the Food Pyramid every year of my life until the age of 18, and for all of that incessant intellectual drilling...I cannot remember where a single food-group goes on that stupid thing. I assume the very top must be "sugars and sweets," but even that is a guess.
The thing was meaningless. And just to prove how utterly inconsequential it is, and again to justify someone's graduate (and probably PhD) studies, the Obama administration has announced a revamped and reformatted version of the Pyramid:
The Obama Administration is getting ready to ditch the Food Pyramid, a symbol of healthy eating for the last two decades.
In its place, officials are "dishing up" a simple, plate-shaped symbol, sliced into wedges for basic food groups and half-filled with fruits and vegetables.
Beside the plate is a smaller circle for dairy, suggesting a glass of low-fat milk or perhaps a yogurt cup.
The revised pyramid is part of the administration's crusade against obesity, led by first lady Michelle Obama.
And the award for the most overtly meaningless gesture in recorded political history goes to..
I get that this story isn't the biggest deal in the world. (Mostly because of how stupid it all is.) But the very notion that bureaucrats in Washington are sitting around concocting new strategies to teach us knuckle-dragging morons how to eat and feed our kids is so aggravating,
Just go away, Michelle Obama and your Food Police minions. Encourage parents to invest in their kids' lives more and make healthier choices.
Other than that, get out of my face. Please.
- Comment (17)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
Comments :
Aug '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
IF the government HAS to tell people what to eat (which it doesn't, but getting beyond that), then I have to say this new graphic does seem better than the old "food pyramid". The old pyramid put way too much emphasis on dairy and grains, due to pressure from farm lobby groups. It wasn't about healthy eating. It was about boosting demand for some foodstuffs at the expense of others.
Canada's Food Guide has made a similar change. It also used to put grains at the top, but it now puts fruits and vegetables at the top.
This makes me wonder, should the government be legally liable for providing citizens with INCORRECT guidelines on what they should eat for so many decades?
Who knows how much harm was done to citizens' who conscientiously did what their government told them by shoving carbs into their mouths?
"I'm fat because I followed the Food Pyramid like my guvmint told me!"
Edited on Jun 3, 2011 at 11:40amApr '11
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
R.J. Moeller:
I get that this story isn't the biggest deal in the world. (Mostly because of how stupid it all is.) But the very notion that bureaucrats in Washington are sitting around concocting new strategies to teach us knuckle-dragging morons how to eat and feed our kids is so aggravating,
Just go away, Michelle Obama and your Food Police minions. Encourage parents to invest in their kids' lives more and make healthier choices.
Other than that, get out of my face. Please. ·
There are worse things they could be doing. At least with this they're just being condescending and annoying, not making us actually obey the thing.
Still, tax money is going towards this; that's the really irritating thing. And they say they don't have enough money.
Jul '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
I'm reminded of another First Lady's slogan:
"Just Say 'No'"
Dec '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Misthiocracy-
I agree that this isn't the end of liberty as we know it (or anything of the sort). It's just obnoxious and pointless. And truth be told, if this were the extent of the government's involvement in our lives (outside of the military and law-making in congress, etc. etc.), I wouldn't care. But the government that feels it must meddle to this extent is the type of government that has already grossly expanded past its constitutional parameters.
No one remembers this stuff. It's all about your upbringing, your home life, and adults who care enough to teach you right from wrong.
I know it wouldn't be true, but I'd just like to hear from Michelle Obama or Nancy Pelosi or any other meddlesome mother-figure on the Left one time at least say that they simply want to support families and parents in such endeavors. That they recognize how un-needed and arbitrary they themselves are in the "fight against obesity." That the real heroes are the millions of parents who DO raise their kids right and do feed them properly.
Delusional thinking, I know.
Sep '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Dan IV
Still, tax money is going towards this; that's the really irritating thing. And they say they don't have enough money. · Jun 3 at 12:02pm
When I first heard about this story, I immediately got to thinking about how many government employees with full healthcare and pension benefits were added to the payroll just so this idiotic clipart image could be slapped all over school cafeterias across the country. Then I stopped thinking about it because I was behind the wheel and didn't want to stroke out on the freeway.
Dec '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Jimmy Carter: I'm reminded of another First Lady's slogan:
"Just Say 'No'" · Jun 3 at 12:09pm
Haha. "No" to The Spinning Plates of Healthy Living in general? Or "No" to the relinquishing of our nationally beloved Food Pyramid?
Feb '11
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
I eat what I like. I would rather live to seventy and enjoy it than live to eighty torturing myself two or three times a day for decades eating swill I detest.
Edited on Jun 3, 2011 at 5:41pmAug '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
You wanna reduce consumption of sweet, salty and fatty snacks? Mandate that all vending machines accept exact change only.
I just tried to get myself a cinnamon bun from the office snack machine but I was denied because I didn't have exact change.
I was weeping as I left the snack room. ;-)
May '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy and... Protein? One of these things is not like the other.
How about Carbohydrates, Glutens, Vitamin D and Meat!
Preferably, brisket.
Dec '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Aaron Miller: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy and... Protein? One of these things is not like the other.
How about Carbohydrates, Glutens, Vitamin D and Meat!
Preferably, brisket. · Jun 3 at 1:50pm
They phrase it that way because they wish to maintain the illusion that a person can be healthy getting all of his or her protein from beans and soy products.
Funny thing is, you have to eat protein to live. And there are essential fatty acids, without which one would die. There are no essential carbohydrates or sugars.
With that in mind, take another look at that plate.
What makes all this worse is that plate is, actually, an improvement in design and message over what they've been saying for a couple generations. Interestingly, that would be the couple of generations over which we have all gotten fatter.
Apr '11
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Full disclosure: As I type I am munching on my third consecutive chocolate chip cookie.
RJ, I sympathize with your irritation about this, and I suspect that Uncle Sam's Food Plate will soon join the Food Pyramid in the Eternal Garden of Unheeded Government Initiatives.
My question has to do with the federally-mandated "Nutrition Facts" labels that can be found on every packaged food product. I admit that I find these labels incredibly helpful and informative, and I look at nearly every one when I am shopping for groceries. As a committed free marketeer, it annoys me that food producers are required to incur the cost of providing this information. But as a consumer who (chocolate chip cookies notwithstanding) tries to make healthy food choices, I don't know what I'd do without them.
What's a conscientious conservative to do?
LOVE your profile, BTW.
Edited on Jun 3, 2011 at 6:30pmMar '11
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
This from the administration that thought color-coded terror alerts were hokey?!
Dec '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Charlotte Reineck: Full disclosure: As I type I am munching on my third consecutive chocolate chip cookie.
RJ, I sympathize with your irritation about this, and I suspect that Uncle Sam's Food Plate will soon join the Food Pyramid in the Eternal Garden of Unheeded Government Initiatives.
My question has to do with the federally-mandated "Nutrition Facts" labels that can be found on every packaged food product. I admit that I find these labels incredibly helpful and informative, and I look at nearly every one when I am shopping for groceries. As a committed free marketeer, it annoys me that food producers are required to incur the cost of providing this information. But as a consumer who (chocolate chip cookies notwithstanding) tries to make healthy food choices, I don't know what I'd do without them.
What's a conscientious conservative to do?
LOVE your profile, BTW. · Jun 3 at 6:24pm
Edited on Jun 03 at 06:30 pm
Thanks Charlotte!
I think a conscientious conservative is to make sure any person under the age of 18 in their life learns the tenets of free market conservative, the constitution, etc. We out-breed the Left!
Dec '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Hahaha! Excellent point, Jack!
Oct '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
Programmers need no guidance from the Man. They instinctively balance their daily menu among the four major food groups: caffeine, sugar, grease, and salt.
Mar '11
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
So, basically, we are back to the 4 food groups. Just like I learned in grade school waaaaaay back in the 60's.
I did think it odd that after several years of doctors pushing me into low-fat diets, non of which worked, the Atkins diet had me losing plenty of weight! Funny how that works.
Aug '10
Re: Take My Eyes...But NOT The Food Pyramid
The difference being that the old Food Pyramid put the highest emphasis on grains, while the new "Food Plate" puts the highest emphasis on fruits and vegetables.
I'd be curious to know how much money lobbyists for fruit & vegetable farmers gave to the Democratic Party vs. the amount given by lobbyists for grain farmers.
On the other hand, they get so much money from ethanol producers that rely on grains to make fuel, the comparison might be moot.
Maybe the government figures if it can get Americans to switch from grains to fruits & vegetables they won't notice that the cost of grain-based foods are going up?
I cynically maintain that government advice about food is never about nutrition, but rather about balancing the demands of the various agricultural lobbies.