Tipsheet

Say Goodbye to Food Pyramids

Well, Michelle Obama and the US Department of Agriculture decided that the government's visualization of what they think your diet should be wasn't working well enough. Americans are still too fat! So we get a new multi-million dollar campaign to show you the proper way to eat! Presenting...

That's right! Myplate.gov! If you don't understand it, or what it's supposed to do, don't worry. The government bureaucrats do. They know better than you what food is good for you. And the result is this hideous monstrosity.

It's not a terrible thing that there are official guidelines for a "healthy diet." The problem, however is when these government "nudges" don't work, the government increasingly turns to force. For example, despite many government "guidelines," Americans still consume a lot of salt. Therefore, the FDA is now considering stricter regulation of salt.

The Obama Administration is certainly not the only offender in this category. It was under George W. Bush that the Food Pyramid got a radical, incomprehensible revamp. This just muddies the waters further.

I was taught the Food Pyramid in school. It was easy, it was simple, it was concise. But that wasn't enough for government bureaucrats. They decided on more and more "tweaks," until we have a 120 page "Dietary Guideline" from the USDA and this "MyPlate" system that makes no sense.