The Plate is more palatable than the Pyramid

Government officials are finally recognizing the failure of the U.S. public educational system. In order to combat poor educational scores in the U.S. compared with other countries, and criticism from movies such as Waiting for Superman, officials are springing into action with a new dietary icon.

"The simplicity is the key," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said about the new symbol. "The food pyramid is very complicated."

"We are people," said Marion Nestle, a professor in the department of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. "We don't eat pyramids. We eat off of plates."

Most long time eaters and products of the U.S. educational system agree. "We eat off plates. The pyramid was way too complicated. Do we even know how these pyramids were built?" asked one confused citizen.

However, not everyone was falling in line. While the plate symbol is much simpler, said Marisa Moore, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, portion control is also crucial, even while eating healthy foods. Seemingly ignoring the state of education in the U.S., she said, "You have to think about the size of the plate. Instead of a dinner plate, start with a salad plate, so you start with fewer calories."

Some even felt the most recent food pyramid, called MyPyramid, introduced in 2005, didn't offer enough information. It showed a stick figure walking up a staircase on the side of the pyramid.

Its predecessor, the first food pyramid, released in 1992, recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables. But these were secondary to the recommendation of six to 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta. It didn't differentiate between refined and whole grains.

Dr. David Kessler, author of The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, agreed that the older food pyramid "didn't reflect best of the dietary guidelines." Unmindful of the government's attempt to appeal to its poorly educated citizenry, he went on to say, "Refined carbohydrates should've never been the major part of the diet," he said. "It was never about eating refined carbohydrates. It's why it didn't work."
With the new changes, Kessler added, "Maybe now, we have a chance."

Most just shook their heads, not understanding what he was talking about.