Obama Administration Abandons Food Pyramid

It's been a symbol of healthy eating for decades or at least the Federal Government's interpretation of healthy eating. But not anymore, the Obama Administration will be ditching the Food Pyramid and replacing it with a plate-shaped symbol, sliced into wedges for basic food groups and half-filled with fruits and vegetables, according to KFMVB TV.

The new symbol will be called My Plate. According to the LA Times:

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.

The new plan is drawing praise and criticism. Praise because it puts people on the right track and criticism because it's still not enough information to place in the hands of consumers.

"To make informed choices, people will need additional information," said Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at Harvard University. "It really makes a difference whether the grains you eat are whole grains or refined grains. It makes a huge difference what kind of proteins are being consumed — to be healthy, we need to be replacing the meat with a mix of chicken, nuts and legumes."

But it's really not the symbols of healthy eating that matter; it's what we're actually eating. I like that the administration is making fruits and vegetables an even bigger part of the American diet.