Here we go again. Regardless of their logo, our government is still coming up way short of simply telling people what they DO need and what they DON’T need — two words for each category.

• Whole Plants (in the DO need category)
• Meat & Dairy (in the DON’T need category)

J. Morris Hicks

In a New York Times article on May 27 by William Neuman, you can read all about how our government has arrived at a brand new way of confusing the American public with its new food guide. A link to that article appears beneath my signature.

Can you imagine how many thousands of people there were who spent countless person-years and millions of dollars developing this latest version of the USDA’s food guide? And they still can’t tell us to simply eat the natural diet for our species — WHOLE PLANTS — nothing more.

And like the two primary versions of “food guides” before it, this one probably made no single industry happy. Once again, it is a gigantic compromise aimed at making sure that none of the following huge industries are adversely impacted: beef, pork, chicken, turkey, milk, cheese, egg, fish — all of those industries that survive on the popularity of their common name — PROTEIN. From the article:

The circular plate, which will be unveiled Thursday (6-2-11), is meant to give consumers a fast, easily grasped reminder of the basics of a healthy diet. It consists of four colored sections, for fruits, vegetables, grains and protein. 

This isn’t fair if you’re a fat or a carbohydrate; the other two macro-nutrients (along with protein) that our bodies need to survive. And the little-known fact that whole plants have some of all three of those macro-nutrients — in just the right proportion to enable our bodies to promote vibrant health, avoid disease and maintain its ideal weight.

All we need to do is eat a variety of whole plants — as close to nature’s original package as possible. And we will never have to worry about getting enough fat, carbohydrate or protein. Because if we get enough calories from those whole plants, we will automatically get enough of all three.

Here's the old pyramid that is being replaced on June 2 by a circular food guide.

But there are those eight “protein” industries who specialize in serving up dead animals by the billions, doing their part to keep our 25 million health care workers employed. But until our elite schools of nutritional science (like Cornell) tell us clearly and loudly that not only do we not “need” any animal protein, but also that it is in fact killing us — those eight industries and their millions of employees will continue to defend their turf when it comes to influencing our government to tell its citizens what they should be eating.

We need leaders like Oprah, Gates and Buffett — and we need them NOW — if we’re ever going to stop this insanity.

By the way, there is a link below to the New York Times article that inspired this post. Now that the Times is beginning to charge for its online newspaper, another advantage of visiting this site regularly is that you can always read any article linked on this post — in its entirety for no charge.

If you like what you see here, you may wish to join our periodic mailing list. Also, for help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4-Leaf page. From the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

If you’d like to order our book on Amazon,  visit our BookStore now.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

PS: Occasionally an unauthorized ad may appear beneath a blog post. It is controlled by WordPress (a totally free hosting service). I do not approve or personally benefit whatsoever from any ad that might ever appear on this site. I apologize and urge you to please disregard. 

Food Pyramid Being Replaced With Plate-Shaped Logo – NYTimes.com.