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Farewell, Food Pyramid; Meet Your New $2 Million Replacement, a Plate
care2 ^ | May 30, 2011 | Kristina Chew

Posted on 05/31/2011 8:11:08 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

As of this coming Thursday, the food pyramid -- that symbol of healthy eating -- is going to go the way of the real pyramids and becoming a thing of the past. This week, the Obama administration will be unveiling a new graphic to tell American consumers what quantities of grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and dairy they should eat to maintain a healthy diet. The pyramid is to be replace by a plate, with four different-colored sections indicating how much of each food group the United States Department of Agriculture recommends and is a "crucial element of the administration's crusade against obesity" led by first lady Michelle Obama, as the New York Times says.

Half of the sections on the plate will be for fruits and vegetables. A smaller circle beside it will indicate a day's dairy allowance. This new logo, which cost about $2 million to develop and promote, is meant to educate Americans about new federal dietary guidelines released in January.

Nutritionists and public health officials are not mourning the passing of the food pyramid which was introduced in 1992. The original idea was to have food groups that one eats larger portions of -- fruits, vegetables, grains -- at the wider base. Dairy and protein were to be placed towards the pointy top of the pyramid. However, the dairy and meat industries objected, saying that their products were being "stigmatized" (I guess they didn't see being at the top of the pyramid as being at the "summit" and "crown"?).

A revised pyramid, MyPyramid, was released in 2005, but designed in such a way that whatever nutritional information it was to communicate was rendered almost useless:

[MyPyramid] turned the old hierarchy on its side, with vertical brightly colored strips standing in for the different food groups. It also showed a stick figure running up the side to emphasize the need for exercise.

Just from the descriptions of it, the new symbol -- there's debate about what to call it, as two things it resembles, "pie chart" and "pizza," have some rather non-healthy associations -- makes sense to me. Most of us eat our meals off a plate (or from a similarly shaped bowl), rather than anything like a pyramid. One could say, the new logo is tastefully democratic, although the dairy industry might object to the satellite-sidekick status allotted to their products with the little circle to the side.

Will you miss MyPyramid? More to the point, will the new logo help people make healthy choices about what to eat, or was that $2 million better spent?


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Government; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: dairy; foodpyramid; fruits; grains; guidelines; health; meat; mypyramid; nannystate; plate; usda; vegetables
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Will fried chicken and watermelon be on it?

Call me racist, I don't give a rats ass anymore.

21 posted on 05/31/2011 8:38:34 PM PDT by unixfox (Abolish Slavery, Repeal The 16th Amendment!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

22 posted on 05/31/2011 8:39:06 PM PDT by Brandonmark (News Coverage)
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To: Pat4ever

Is someone hosting a STUPID contest? Surely it would be on the MSM evening news. Did I miss the announcement? Let me get this right ... 2 million dollars to turn a pyramid into a pie. I could probably do it for 1.5 million dollars with a lifetime guarantee.


23 posted on 05/31/2011 8:43:16 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (There's a pill for just about everything ... except stupid!)
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To: KarlInOhio
Yeah, whoever designed that plate never saw a full English breakfast (and this is a small one):


24 posted on 05/31/2011 8:46:08 PM PDT by LibFreeOrDie (Obama promised a gold mine, but will give us the shaft.)
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To: LibFreeOrDie
Here's the one used in the UK. So we spent millions of dollars to copy it?

HA! Yes! Just like most of our TV programs - all UK copy cats...

25 posted on 05/31/2011 8:49:19 PM PDT by libertarian27 (Ingsoc: Department of Life, Department of Liberty, Department of Happiness)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Thanks for the ping!


26 posted on 05/31/2011 8:50:54 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

but...but...but....what if you’re lactose intolerant?

Do I have a “case”? I could use some Soetoro cash.....


27 posted on 05/31/2011 8:59:33 PM PDT by Mortrey (Impeach President Soros)
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder

Here are some possible studies worth the money:

How to best get rid of the EPA.
How to best get rid of the FDA.
How to best impeach foreign nationals who win Presidential elections.
How to best oust the RINO establishment from the GOP.
How to best get rid of all federal evironMENTAL legislation.


28 posted on 05/31/2011 8:59:55 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (I hate politically correct sorosmonkey superheroes!)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I really like your pie graph!


29 posted on 05/31/2011 9:02:06 PM PDT by Moonmad27 ("I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." Jessica Rabbit)
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To: hometoroost
Where will ribs and ice cream go?

To the Oval Office, in the dead of night, after Moochelle is asleep.

And may God have pity on any staffer who eats The One's strawberries, or tosses out his breadfruit tree...or steals his ballbearings out of his pocket.

30 posted on 05/31/2011 9:02:47 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Made in America, by proud American citizens, in 1946.)
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To: unixfox

How about tacos and burritos? RAAAAACIST!!!

How about chicken chow mein and egg drop soup? RAAAAACIST!!!

How about anything from Denny’s or Waffle House? RAAAAAAAAAACIST!!!!!!


31 posted on 05/31/2011 9:04:20 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (I hate politically correct sorosmonkey superheroes!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I always thought it should have been a pie chart. Bar graphs would only for for candy bars. And those curve things would be analogous to eating one piece of spaghetti. The spot things is what the floor looks like a bunch of kids eat spaghetti. I miss the square pan pizza places. The pizzas were square too.


32 posted on 05/31/2011 9:15:30 PM PDT by ThomasThomas (I am still looking for that box I am supposed to think out of.)
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To: bigbob

Re: Beer. “There’s a sandwich in every can!” :)


33 posted on 05/31/2011 9:20:50 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: Moonmad27

What’s not to like about pie? This week I baked a Rhubarb Custard Pie to rave reviews. My cherry trees are LOADED, so there should be some awesome fresh cherry pies coming out of the oven later this summer. Yum! :)


34 posted on 05/31/2011 9:27:19 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I like THIS for breakfast, lunch, a snack, and then, dinner! Yum! ........................................... FRegards
35 posted on 05/31/2011 9:28:19 PM PDT by gonzo ( Buy more ammo, dammit! You should already have the firearms .................. FRegards)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

What is it with people telling other people what they should and should not eat? Don’t eat meat! Okay, eat meat, but make sure it’s cooked the “right” way! Don’t eat fish, eat fish, don’t eat shellfish, okay go ahead but keep the portions small..don’t eat carbohydrates, don’t eat this or that, etc.

Seems it’s in the DNA of the human race, and has been going on for about, oh, I don’t know...FOREVER!


36 posted on 05/31/2011 10:09:03 PM PDT by Let_It_Be_So (Once you see the Truth, you cannot "unsee" it, no matter how hard you may try.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks; FromLori; NFHale; relictele; sickoflibs; Gilbo_3; stephenjohnbanker; ...

37 posted on 06/03/2011 6:31:35 AM PDT by ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas (Budget sins can be fixed. Amnesty is irreversible.)
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To: ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas
Oh, happy day, a-n-o-t-h-e-r reason to vote for Ohaha. There was even talk at a recent DNC conclave about why Ohaha deserves to be reelected, and, "Why it is important for us to make that happen," said a long-time Obama supporter

Heck, what's not to like? High unemployment, High food prices, High gas prices, High utility costs, Record home foreclosures, Bank closings, Investment losses, Stock market losses, A world-class culture in decline, overrun with terrorists and illegals, Trillions of US dollars being guzzled by Mideast hellholes.... AND a $2 million food diagram (sigh). Besides, Obama needs another four years so Michelle can gallivant around the globe in designer fashions, stay at luxe hotels, and eat lobster (sniffle).

=========================================

Obama’s approval ratings appear to have steadily risen the past two months (course they only polled Dems). Getting rid of putrid Rahm, stashing the execrable Gibbs and Axelrod out of sight (behind the scenes in the reelection effort) was a good thing for Ohaha. And Pelosi out of the way, no longer praising Ohaha, and his healthcare plan, is also working well.

But look closely, voters.... as 2012 looms, Ohaha's looking less human by the minute---more like a vote-crazed, wild-eyed robot, mouthing sound bites. Stay tuned. THE SYNCHRONIZED CANDIDATE From hereonin everything he says will sound like a focus group sound-bite......with pre-programmed voice inflections, and synchronized hand and head gestures.

============================================

FREEPERS, GET THIS VOTER FRAUD INITIATIVE STARTED IN YOUR STATE: Ohaha's depending on illegals to vote for him.....gonna urge illegal to "vote against your enemies" like he did before the Midterm fiasco

Freepers voter fraud initiative: Send letters to names on the voter rolls---requesting proof of citizenship---those who do not present proof are stricken from the rolls.

Usually each state's Secy of State handles voter irregularities.

38 posted on 06/03/2011 6:39:19 AM PDT by Liz
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To: LibFreeOrDie
Here's the one used in the UK. So we spent millions of dollars to copy it?

$1.00 to copy it and $9,999,999 for the plagiarism lawsuit...
39 posted on 06/03/2011 10:59:29 AM PDT by Notasoccermom
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To: Notasoccermom

I am surprised they haven’t made it mandatory to eat food from at least 20 different ethnic groups per week...


40 posted on 06/03/2011 11:06:47 AM PDT by Notasoccermom
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