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Strollerderby
A Plate, or MyPlate, Replaces the Food Pyramid. Yippee or Yawn?
What, the knife got the shaft along with the pyramid?
As most parents know, getting kids to eat well can be a complicated endeavor. Furthermore, teaching them why they should eat well is even more daunting, particularly since we all probably know that by the time they understand the benefits of healthy eating, there is far too much macaroni and cheese in their system to be undone; their innards will be irreversibly neon orange.
The Department of Agriculture has long boasted a food pyramid to explain what we should eat every day and how much. And now comes word that the pyramid has been canned to make room for a plate, called MyPlate (I’m guessing the new plate is so small that they didn’t have an extra room to make space between the words “My” and “Plate.” Just a guess). The new design to promote healthy eating and prevent childhood obesity was revealed today by First Lady Michelle Obama.
I suppose it’s pretty and all, but I fear that unless they make a quick Wonder Twins-like edit and reshape it in the form of a rocket ship or Disney princess, I can’t see too many kids giving it a second thought.
The old pyramid may have been hard to understand (and, frankly, somewhat impossible and/or improbable to follow), but I’m unclear how this design will be any better. How are we to know, for instance, if MyPlate is actually an Applebee’s-like plate that’s large enough to serve an appetizer sample platter to a family of Biggest Loser contestants, or a Weight Watcher’s-size plate that asks you to measure your meat by the size of a deck of cards.
The reality is that at least the Food Pyramid had some concrete information. MyPlate tells me only that I should eat more grains and vegetables than fruit and protein. Does that mean it’s all unlimited just as long as it’s in proportion?
I will say this in favor of MyPlate: I am strangely nostalgic for the game of my youth, Simon Says.
I guess I’ll wait to pass judgment until I see how it plays out. Oh wait, it’s too late for that.
Are you hopeful the plate will change the color of the sky in your culinary world, or do you think it’s just a bunch of phony baloney (which, I can guarantee, will not be a recommended protein for your plate)?
Image: USDA
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12 Comments
Jenny commented on Jun 02 11 at 2:52 pmI know that your meat portion should be about the size of your fist. Perhaps they could do a chart with fists on it. 1 fist worth of meat, two fists worth of veggis…
Meredith Carroll commented on Jun 02 11 at 2:53 pm@Jenny — But whose fist? Mine? My toddler’s? Mine for my portions? Hers for hers? I don’t see how the plate clears any of this up.
Gagagolly commented on Jun 02 11 at 3:30 pmLike anything else, if you really want to know details, you have to read more. Alot is explained in additional USDA info. The plate is just supposed to be a quick attention-grabbing symbol. You can’t expect to know everything from just the symbol. The fact that people need so much guidance on what to eat is sad. Micheal Pollan’s “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” is about as good as it gets when it comes to quick credos on food, but still you’d have to know what he meant by “eat food” (which means real, whole foods as opposed to processed collections of chemicals….)
Meredith Carroll commented on Jun 02 11 at 3:31 pm@Gagagolly — Yes, I understand there is more information available if you read more. But just like trying to get kids to understand why they should eat healthier is nearly impossible, so is trying to get them to simply “read more.” One-stop shopping would have been more beneficial in the redesign, I think.
Gagagolly commented on Jun 02 11 at 4:29 pmKids aren’t to be left on their own to figure this out…uhm…that’s why they are kids and have their parents feed them things/pick their foods…*care* for them. Seriously. Are the Babble writers being obtuse? I’m not a fan of the symbols myself, but it’s really not (OK…shouldn’t be) that complicated for college-educated parents to figure out what the heck to feed their kids. I disagree with all this “It’s impossible” business.
Meredith Carroll commented on Jun 02 11 at 4:31 pm@Gagagolly — I’m flattered that you read my posts, but I’m starting to get the sense that you’d argue if I wrote the grass were green. I don’t like MyPlate, you do. Hooray for both of us. Life goes on.
Gagagolly commented on Jun 02 11 at 5:09 pmI don’t like it or not like it (the new design) I am actually on the fence…I don’t know how useful it is in general because it’s so simplified, kind of part of what you said. BUT, what I do know, and this is where your post gets muddies up, is that it is not supposed to be for kids. So all this about it looking like a Disney Princess or robot or whatever doesn’t make sense. Until kids are at least in their teens and even then, parents should be controlling their kids menus the vast majority of times. And to the point on serving size, and I said this on Madeline Holler’s post, too, information on serving sizes is available on most foods that matter how much of it you eat, and probably available somewhere in the USDA materials. It’s not going to fit on a a simple plate graphic. And all of this is nothing against you individually or personally…I am reacting to the content of the post.
Jenny commented on Jun 03 11 at 2:33 pmthe amount of meat for person A should be the size of person A’s fist. The amount of meat for person B’s should be the size of person B’s fist (not person A’s).
mbaker commented on Jun 04 11 at 2:30 pmI wonder how long it’s going to be before someone comes out with a divided plate for kids that uses this graphic. I think it would be a good teaching tool.
jasmine commented on Jun 05 11 at 12:41 amI’m not sure why it is “nearly impossible” for kids to understand why they should eat healthy foods…My 4 year old doesn’t seem to have a problem figuring out that if she eats junk food she feels bad and if she eats an apple or a banana she feels good. Maybe we should be teaching our kids to listen to their bodies instead of reading a diagram on what to eat.
Paula commented on Jun 06 11 at 4:21 pmI think we need to just go back to the old food pyramid with the latitude lines, not that ridiculous one that’s out now. The new pyramid is like something out of Idiocracy… except it’s missing electrolytes.
This plate is ALMOST as bad.
Eve commented on Jun 06 11 at 8:28 pm@Paula: Loved the Idiocracy reference…loved that movie for its eerie reality! Still, I have to say I’m a fan of the new Plate. Just because those of us who took interest in this post happen to be big Michael Pollan/Food Inc/Bittman, etc fans, doesn’t mean the majority of the populace is. The majority of people are sadly still pretty clueless about what to eat, so a very clear, dummy-proof graphic demonstrating proportions is great! If they’re eating twice as many veggies as protein, I think people are on the right track. They can fine tune it (whole vs processed foods, meat alternatives, etc), as they become more interested & educated about food.
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