The New Food Plate: A Family Dinner Table Talk

This week's Family Dinner Table Talk, from HuffPost and The Family Dinner book:

Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled a new food plate to replace the food pyramid. This design not only departs in shape from the food pyramid, but also in meal structure. Most noticeable is that instead of having a section for meat and beans, the food plate simply says "protein," indicating that there are other sources of protein besides meat. Similarly, while the most recent version of the food pyramid had serving suggestions for milk, the new food plate uses the more general term of dairy.

The food pyramid has gone through many iterations since 1916 when the first USDA food guide was published. The one most familiar is probably the 1992 food pyramid version that instructs people to use fats, oils and sweets sparingly.

Michelle Obama explained, "As long as [our plates are] half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we're golden." Her support of this cause goes along with her Let's Move! campaign, aimed to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.

Do you like how the food plate is designed? Do you think the food plate will help Americans balance their diets? Do you agree with using the term "protein" instead of meat? Is your plate half full of fruits and vegetables? Is there a certain food group you should eat more or less of? What are some steps you can take to eating a more balanced diet? If you could design your own food icon, what would you do?

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Comments

[rheaseo25]

02:17 AM on 06/13/2011

i think the graphic design is confusing, with the plate divided in make it hard to know the right percentage of nutrients the body needed and the dairy as a circle further complicates the sense of scale and proportions.

More of Graphic Design Ideas: http://www.raffles-iao.com/colleges/australia-sydney.html

[nutrocon]

10:50 AM on 06/06/2011

One Glaring Omission:

While I agree that this is a huge step forward, there was one glaring omission: healthy fat. It is astounding that so few "experts" have pointed this out. One cannot exist optimally without healthy dietary fat. Maybe for the next version, they can cut down the amount of grains and add a small section for healthy fats.

Bonnie Minsky
Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist
nutritionalconcepts.com

[honeybear64]

09:38 PM on 06/03/2011

Well, it's certainly an improvement. The best thing about it by far is that it gets rid of that ridiculous "base of grains" from the 1992 pyramid (the one I think most people are familiar with).

Too bad it can't convey that there are big differences in various forms of grains and dairy. I can regularly be consuming such nutritional absurdities as skim milk and Wonder bread and still be eating according to "My Plate".

Anyway, I think it's a step in the right direction.

[TheEliminatrix]

05:38 PM on 06/03/2011

I enjoy food plate. Being on the other side of it ... what comes out in the colonics, makes you really aware of what's going in. LOL.

[Leanne Serrato]

04:35 PM on 06/03/2011

I like the food plate. Anything that helps people visualize how they should be eating is important. As a former biology and health teacher I can tell you that it is difficult for students (and adults too) to go from a pyramid to how your meal should look. Also I agree that protein is better than meat (more general and helps people understand what protein is) and the word dairy is also better than milk. I am concerned however, that the exercise component that was recently added (2006 I think?) is not included in this new model. Otherwise I love it.

[scully05]

03:45 PM on 06/03/2011

I like the food plate.

[marperl]

03:18 PM on 06/03/2011

Actually, the plate concept has already been superceded by a newer icon. Today, the USDA is introducing My Stomach, a graphic design of the human organ divided into four quadrants to represent the four main nutritional areas: Dark Chocolate, Sunday Bacon, Botttomless Fries, and Your Favorite Adult Beverage.

"This will make it much easier for the average American to stomach the stringent dietary guidelines we have been promoting for years," said the Assistant to the Deputy to the Vice-chair of the guidelines committee with a wry wink. "Actually, this is all a joke. C'mon, Sunday Bacon? That should obviously be Country Sausage."

More whimsy is at Thinking Out Loud, http://marperl.blogspot.com/

[gnomechomsky]

03:11 PM on 06/03/2011

The USDA's food plate chart doesn't really make me want to eat healthier; it just makes me want to play Trivial Pursuit.