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USDA replaces the symbol -- but not the advice
By Dr. William Campbell Douglass on 06/13/2011
The USDA "food pyramid" is finally being torn down -- not because of the horrible advice it contained, but because it was a bit "too confusing."
So they've traded in a triangle for a circle: a multicolored dinner plate with a glass of milk off to the side.
Cost to you: Just $2 million, a bargain when you consider how that fee includes... well... a multicolored dinner plate with a glass of milk off to the side.
The USDA unveiled its first food pyramid in 1992, and then replaced it with MyPyramid just a few years ago. The latest version had a little man running up the side, presumably to collect the prize of "fats, oils and sweets" (yes, the three were lumped together) locked in the top.
Now the little man is gone, and it's unclear what killed him. I suppose it could have been all that running up the pyramid... but maybe he binged on those sweets and died of diabetes and heart disease.
RIP, pyramid man. We hardly knew you.
Food pyramid finally crumbles
The USDA, on the other hand, we know only too well. This agency's bad advice, carefully negotiated with help from Big Food's big-money lobbyists, has turned us into the fattest, sickest, weakest people on the planet.
But that advice won't change -- just the symbol, as the new dinner plate will be loaded with the same crapola that caused the pyramid to topple over: vegetables and sack after sack of grains.
Nothing on earth leads to obesity quite like a grain-based diet -- and if you need any proof of that, just take a tour of a factory farm.
The animals in those hellholes are given the same foods the feds want you to eat -- grains and soy -- to fatten them up as fast as possible.
Throw in some antibiotics, and you've got a giant cow... or a giant human. And does it even matter which is which anymore?
We are what we eat -- and if we eat cow feed, we'll turn into cows, waiting for our own demise in the not-too-distant future.
Moo.
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William Campbell Douglass I.I., M.D. has been called "the conscience of modern medicine."
You can sign up for his "Daily Dose" at DouglassReport.com.
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Comments
Anonymous
Other government agencies are equally corrupt or misguided in pushing the "established" advice on diet.
The Postal Service has always been extremely active in acting against books offering "unconventional" health advice. The USPS stance was that a book which conflicted with "established medical belief" was per se "wrong" and any sales of it were "fraudulent" and any ads, no matter how factual, were "misleading and deceptive."
Using its own in-house "courts" the USPS banned the mailorder sales of many health books. One of the most publicized was a book called "Fresh Food v. Stale Food" which espoused the idea that a nutritious diet could help prevent or even reverse heart problems and some other health issues.
Few people realize that the USPS is so active in censorship, and fewer still realize that the USPS could do so much censorship without even appearing in a legitimate and impartial court.
Under the law (39 USC 3005 et seq) the USPS was able to ban advertising for "incorrect" books. It also was able to ... on its own volition ... block delivery of mail to such sellers, returning the mail to senders stamped with a defamatory message that the seller was engaged in illegality.
Ironically, the "Fresh Food v. Stale Food" blew up in the USPS' face, when it got national publicity and made people aware of the USPS book-banning. Some years ago a new law (fought hard by the USPS with our tax dollars) limited the USPS' ability to ban books.
As to the idiots at the USDA, it bothers me that they spend millions and millions of my money pushing harmful propaganda.
healthywendy
I love this Dr's writing style, he blends humor and common sense.
I haven't seen the food circle yet, but I'm sure it will be as misleading as the pyramid. Where there is money involved, truth flies out of the window!
Wendy
Lori
I, too, love his sense of humor. But the new icon is no laughing matter. We're already straving because of lack of essential fat soluble nutrients and minerals, and this ensures that we will continue to be. Following the advice for pregnant women on the website will produce babies with neurological and endocrine problems from the get go. Forget the whole milk; drink skim, or soy! Extra protein? Tofu! Scary stuff!
Anonymous
Comparing us to farm animals doesn't make me laugh either. While I agree that the new "food plate" is mis- or maybe mal-proportioned, we don't eat only grains like factory farm animals do so our obesity problems are from other causes too, not just grains. But until we do away with processed foods and restrict portion size at restaurants and at the dinner table we aren't going to lose anything but good health.
Anonymous
Only in America folks, our government changes the picture spends millions and we do not improve, instead of wasting all their time and monies they should be more concerned of the pesticides, the hormones, the contamination overall in our food supplies, what good are these food recommendations if our food is contaminated, and to begin with this PIE is an absolute nonsense. JAM
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