The current USDA Food Guide Pyramid is little more than government-approved propaganda for America's grain growers. The document has almost nothing to do with sound nutritional advice and everything to do with appeasing influential food producers. Now the USDA is looking to revamp the Food Guide Pyramid into something that's easier to understand.
This process is highly politicized. Read Food Politics by Marion Nestle to get an insider's view of what goes on. For example, in the existing Food Guide Pyramid, finalized in 1992, the beef industry played an aggressive role in making sure the guide never recommended that people eat "less read meat." Instead, the guide was modified to read something more along the lines of, "Increase consumption of lean meats," which is very different from the intended, scientifically supported health advice of "eat less red meat."
The new Food Guide Pyramid will likely be even more of a handout to food producers. Farmers and food manufacturers have been put through the wringer over the Atkins Diet and low-carb diets in general, so they know how powerful nutritional guidelines can be if the public pays attention. Watch for every prominent food-related industry to play politics in an effort to get favorable placement in the new guide: the dairy industry, the sugar industry, meat producers, grain growers, produce farmers... you name it.
The USDA, of course, consistently caters to industry rather than actually looking out for the health interests of the general public, so you can rightly expect whatever new guidelines the agency produces to be little more than heavily politicized propaganda designed to appease powerful food lobbies. It's a given, even before the process has begun.
Want real nutritional advice? Read the Atkins Food Guide Pyramid, which offers far better nutritional advice than anything the federal government has come up with. After all, to get the real story on nutrition, you have to listen to people who don't have financial or political ties to food producers, and the USDA is so intertwined with food producers that it can't possibly remain objective or scientific about nutritional guidelines.
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates.
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Sunday, July 18, 2004
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