The New Food Pyramid Satisfies All, Helps No One

While the new vertical food pyramid is better than the old horizontal one, it will not be the answer to America’s obesity epidemic. Besides the cluttered, confusing look, the pyramid is designed to keep manufacturers and nutritionists happy without actually changing America’s eating habits.

Despite cattle producers unhappy but not surprised over the tiny band they get, most food producers are spared direct attacks on their products. The biggest winner seems to be the dairy industry, which wins a band equal in size to grains and vegetables. The food industry also likes the libertarian feel of the graphic, because it emphasizes personal responsibility – i.e. exercise – over eating less.

There are actually 12 new pyramids, each customized to fit various lifestyles, reports The New York Times, but I’ve been unable to access all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s FoodPyramid website, which has been overloaded with millions of hits an hour since the guidelines were released.

Meanwhile, I thought it might be instructive to hear what the experts are saying about the new pyramid:

“The pyramid is incredible to me. The whole concept of replacing unhealthy food with healthy food is very hard to find. I’m pretty skeptical this graphic is going to produce many healthy people except for some highly motivated ones.”
– Dr. Carlos Arturo Camargo Jr., an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and a member of the dietary guidelines advisory committee, tells The New York Times.

I think what they did was good. They knew what a serving was, but nobody else had a clue.”
– Sheldon Greenberger, 64, a retired advertising executive, tells the Los Angeles Times

“MyPyramid is about the ability of Americans to personalize their approach when choosing a healthier lifestyle that balances nutrition and exercise. Many Americans can dramatically improve their overall health by making modest improvements to their diets and by incorporating regular physical activity into their daily lives.”
– USDA Secretary Mike Johanns tells The Washington Post

“The new dietary guidelines are the best ever. They’re based on the latest science and they provide very strong advice, but it seems like the USDA dodged the difficult political advice once again and didn’t clearly communicate what to eat less of. Given that obesity is the biggest health problem facing the country, that is what is most needed to be communicated.”
– Margo G. Wootan, nutrition policy director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, tells The Washington Post

“This is dietary advice for people with computers. …I read it as, ‘It doesn’t matter what you eat. Just exercise.’ ”
– Marion Nestle, a specialist in nutrition and public health at New York University, tells the Los Angeles Times

I should explain that the new pyramid is essentially an online tool – you have to go to MyPyramid.gov or MyPyramidTracker.gov to see and use the dietary tools – which means the wealthy and educated are the most likely beneficiaries. Poorer and computer illiterate Americans, who are the most likely to be overweight, are being left in the dark.

There is virtually no conventional advertising budget to promote the pyramid. Government is hoping the food companies – the wolves themselves – to promote the new eating guidelines.

It doesn’t really matter, though, because once you get past all the hype and colorful graphics, I see nothing here that will truly help Americans eat more healthy. The generic recommendations make it difficult for the average American to discern what foods are good or bad. How do you measure cheese crackers for your serving size? What about cereal? Or Big Macs?

What essentially is happening here is this: the pyramid more or less satisfies the nutritionists because their recommendations are honored. At the same time, food manufacturers are happy because no one is saying, “Don’t eat Cocoa Puffs,” either. And the companies can then characterize the pyramid any way they see fit.

Meanwhile, Americans will blot out the words “whole-grain cereals” and “eat a variety of fruit” from their brains and not truly understand how their eating habits must change. So once again, the government skips out of its responsibility of fixing America’s health nightmare and leaves the wolves in charge of the flock.

Additional note:
There seems to be some sort of intentional error in the charts I’ve posted on this site. If you notice on both graphics, beans are included with Meat & Beans. But notice that on the third paragraph under Vegetables the chart reads “Eat more dry beans and peas like pinto beans, kidney beans, and lentils.” I’m not really sure why the experts would do that, though we’ll probably hear an answer in the next few weeks.

Comments

[chip]

The very fact that this "food pyramid" is the outcome not of a scientific consensus among nutritionists, but rather of lobbying efforts by various food industries, to me means it's pretty useless.

Government needs to be a force to balance the power of private industry, to protect the rest of us. It shouldn't be just a tool of private industry... Because then there's no one looking out for all us regular folks!

[brettdl]

So true. Unfortunately, the corruption of science in American politics has been ongoing for decades. It will take incredibly strong leaders -- something we have not seen many of in recent times -- to clean up this mess.

[KimberlyDi]

It's a pyramid scheme!!! No really, I haven't accessed the web site yet to be able to form an opinion either way on it. I don't expect much improvement though because The World Has Changed from when I was a kid. When I was a kid, I knew all the kids in the neighborhood, and played with them... riding bikes, climbing trees, etc. I was Outside Because It Was Too Beautiful A Day To Spend Inside - per mom. And mom... she cooked dinner every night. Eating out then was a treat. Eating out now is a way of life. My son would rather play XBox than ride the bike we bought him. We never met all our neighbors and he didn't make many friends, except from school. I know that a fear of harm keeps me indoors more often than not. Rapists, drunk drivers, child molestors, terrorists... It's a much scarier world than the one I grew up in. The food pyramid might be a step in the right direction but it's only one aspect of reality today. Speaking of Reality, more and more people want to watch Reality on TV rather than be out there in life Living Reality. Strange and sad.

[brettdl]

Kimberly, sometimes I think I'm just imagining things are worse in today's society. Then I read a comment like yours and my concerns are reaffirmed.

I also spent most of my childhood outdoors and loved it. Limits were place on how much TV I watched, but it didn't matter that much because I preferred to be outdoors.

I would like my son and future daughter to also be able to spend their time outdoors. Even though we have a national forest nearby, the only way for my kids to get there is if we drive them.

There are no trails that lead in and out of our park because no one thought to build them. Those places where walkable access is remembered are usually either cost prohibitive or in a spot I can't make a living.

This nation's food industry is another form of hostility directed at our children today. That is, kids are assaulted with commercials to eat this or that, which eventually leads to bad long-term habits as they enter adulthood.

I believe Americans eventually will have to stand up to these special interests and reclaim our society. And soon.

[chip]

great comments as always brett.

And I know just the guy to do lead this movement of standing up to special interests. He has this blog called Dad Talk...

[brettdl]

Uh oh, I walked into that one, didn't I?