Bye, bye Food Pyramid!

So the "food pyramid" that so many of us grew up with, which was even revised fairly recently is a thing of the past.  We now have a "dinner plate" which honestly makes a little more sense.  Who eats off a pyramid anyway?

It will be interesting to see what the fall-out is of the change.  Even Michelle Obama has already offered some criticisms of the organization of the plate and it has only been officially released for a few hours.

It seems to me that it is a better graphic, but only if people have enough food information.  That's sort of what the First Lady said as well.  That saying "protein" will make a lot of people think of meat, whereas a lot of protein comes from other sources.  I think also the little "dairy" circle above the plate will make a lot of people think of milk in a glass, and even having a section labeled "dairy" is problematic for vegans and explaining why they might still have a healthy diet (although less so than the old food pyramid).

So, if the new "dinner plate" is really going to work, it is going to take a lot of food education, which was also true for the food pyramid.  That education doesn't always seem forthcoming by the government or educational system but has been mostly grass-roots and that has been a problem.  In addition to food education, healthy nutritious food will also have to be available widely for the intentions of the "dinner plate" to be realized, which is another real issue in American given poverty and processed foods.

Still, it seems to be a step in the right direction, but just one step.