Obama team unveils exciting federal logo to make you eat less of what you like and more of what you don't

Just in time for county fair and picnic season, President Obama's administration has unveiled a brand-new, colorful, exciting logo designed to fill what it feels is a disturbing national shortage of reminders for Americans to eat healthier.

The MyPlate logo (see super-sized version above) will be widely distributed by your federal government to replace the familiar food pyramid design as the examining room poster least-read-by-impatient-patients-sitting-in-their-underwear-awaiting-a-tardy-doctor.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who comes from Iowa and has downed his fair share of corn dogs, cheesesteaks and elephant ears over the years, unveiled the new logo.

"With so many food options available to consumers," Vilsack opined, "it is often difficult to determine the best foods to put on our plates when building a healthy meal."

Who could possibly oppose healthy meals, right? Especially if someone else has to eat them.

And especially given what medicine is going to cost individual Americans under the president's massive healthcare plan that everyone will be required to buy unless they can wangle a waiver from the Health and Human Services Department because they're a well-connected union, large corporation or run AARP?

And who is closer to the American people, cares more about their perceived needs, thinks they know more about everything that they think matters and is better able to impose such well-meaning propaganda reminders than federal government bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.?

"MyPlate is an uncomplicated symbol to help remind people to think about their food choices in order to lead healthier lifestyles," Vilsack added.

For increased news interest, the Ag department had on hand Michelle Obama, who's made the fight against obesity her first lady cause.

"I can already tell how much this is going to help parents across the country," said Mrs. Obama, who served six kinds of pies at her last Thanksgiving dinner.

"When mom or dad comes home from a long day of work," she stated, "we're already asked to be a chef, a referee, a cleaning crew. So it's tough to be a nutritionist too. But we do have time to take a look at our kids' plates. As long as they're half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we're golden. That's how easy it is."

Also on hand Thursday to help serve up the warning about healthier face-stuffing was Regina Benjamin, President Obama's selection as the nation's health-driven surgeon general (see photo above).

She said:

"This new tool can be a fun way to help individuals and families make healthier meal choices. I encourage all Americans to follow the new dietary guidelines and become familiar with the new icon because it will serve as a compass to a healthy and fit nation."

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Christina House / Los Angles Times (Benjamin).

Comments

[Michael E]

What a joke, my plate............stop farm subsidies!!!! I'll eat what I want and you will have to pry this sweet hot burger from my cold dead body. BTW show more pictures of the fat Surgeon General as a model for "good decision making".. go away Demoncrats!!

[Ken]

Is it just me, or is our Surgeon General a tad overweight? Physician heal thyself! How many millions did we spend to develope this cute little plate???

[Amy Alkon]

Unfortunately, just like the food pyramid, which was based in Ancel "Selection Bias" Keys shoddy and dishonest research (and, per investigative science journo Gary Taubes, was created by an aide to George McGovern with no science experience), this "plate" is not based in evidence, either.

Go to cardiologist Dr. William Davis' Heartscan blog and search "wheat" and "whole grain," and you'll see substantial evidence that grains of any kind (including oats) are detrimental to human health.

Furthermore, looking at the picture of the Surgeon General...she's telling ME how to eat? It's none of the government's business, of course, anyway. Especially when they're putting out the same thing they have for decade -- a non-evidence-based, unhealthy prescription for diet that will only serve to make Americans fat and unhealthy.

For good science, with none of your tax dollars sucked up, read the blogs of Gary Taubes, Dr. Michael Eades, Denise Minger, Stephan Guyenet, Melissa McEwen, and the people they link to.

Per Taubes, in "Why We Get Fat," it is carbohydrates -- sugar, flour, starchy vegetables like potatoes, apple juice -- that cause the insulin secretion that puts on fat.

[snowcloud]

Food is so expensive now that we can barely afford it. What a great way to make us eat less! Just price us right out of eating! Thanks, Obama! You're a genius!

[Paul in Ohio]

Looks like the Simon Says game. Oh I get it, eat whatever the f****** government (simon) says you will eat and shut up! At least it's subtle...no, not really.

[Mark]

Sad that we have to "dumb down" the message because people are too stupid to grasp the obvious.

[travis]

Remove the grains, and buy everything from local farmers untouched by the government and I would agree. I think Mrs Benjamin has overdone it with the grains. Nice model to look up to kids in regards to health.

[potatoe]

I understand the next step will be to change the plates in all restaurants to reflect the portions identified here. The plates will have molded sections which, by law, will be filled with the specified food product & amount. (provided that your BMI is within acceptable range*)
Once this step has met with OVERWHELMING ACCEPTANCE by all rightthinking people, a comission will be formed to supervise the 'replacement' of the plates used in all homes/dwelling places from sea to shining sea.
The future starts tomorro......
*those not having acceptale BMI will have the opportunity to weigh in during the next meal period

[BurgerMiester]

None of contents of this diagram are on any dinner party (or super Bowl ) menu at The Grand ol' White House. Party Time!

[Mimosa M]

I'm surprised Malcolm's blog is hosted by the LA Times. This latest "Obama team unveils exciting federal logo..." is an asinine attack on a good initiative to help remind everybody about how to keep our diets healthy and balanced. As someone deeply cares about keeping my child healthy, I appreciate all the help I can get. The 'Food Pyramid' helped lead to the obesity epidemic. This new graphic might help us a little to eat right.

Rightwingers will hate everything the President and administration do, even the good stuff. On some issues we all ought to agree, especially when it comes to health issues. I guess if they'd been around back then, the crazed right would have attacked President Kennedy's promotion of Physical Education.

[Phocion Timon]

Rule Number One if you want to at least have a chance to enjoy life: Never, ever, ever, never trust the government; they do not have your best interest at heart.

The Government came out with the ridiculous food pyramid, which of course was wrong, and now they've come out with this Hopey-Changey Platey thing. It is, or will be, wrong also.

[Theo]

Ken, it is nonsense to think that carbohydrates make people fat. Baloney! I'm African. In africa our main food source is carbohydrates mainly from grains: rice, maize, starchy root tubers like yam & cassava. Meat & protein is expensive so we don't eat much at all. Yet, Africans are skinnier than their western counterparts.
When in met my wife in Australia, she was 100kg but we went to Ghana and for 12 months, she lost more than 30 kg(66 Ibs) eating our grainy foods.
Im a body builder with huge muscles. I couldnt have done this without carbs. Ken stop following fad diets and eat real.

[J. Stanton]

Our government gives giant agribusinesses like Monsanto, ADM, and Cargill $billions each year to overproduce grains, to the point that we are forced to feed them to our cars at a net energy loss ("corn ethanol").

Industrial agriculture is an environmental disaster - and the grains it produces are making us fat and diabetic via the resulting tsunami of artificially cheap corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, and nutrition-less snack foods made from corn and wheat.

Eat grass-fed red meat, eggs, root starches, vegetables, and fruits.
Buy them directly from local producers whenever you can.
Don't eat birdseed ("hearthealthywholegrains") or diesel fuel ("vegetable oil").

JS - gnolls.org

[00100930]

I think the plate is a better way to communicate than the pyramid. The surgeon general may be fat, I don' think that's really the point. Super Bowl coaches are fat and out of shape, that doesn't mean they don't know football.
If we are supposed to take diet advice from "beautiful people" we'd probably find out they are on heroin and celery

I used to work at a meat packing plant in the midwest. I will never eat hamburger, hot dogs, sausage, nuggets or any kind of processed "meat." This is where nearly worthless scraps are turned into high-margin products. If you saw what was actually going into these processed "meat" products before they are retextured, reshaped and yes IRRADIATED.... you would not give them to a prize dog.

I am amazed people will pay $2 for 1/3 fast food burgers, when they could have sirloin steak for less than $6/ pound.

The other thing about fast food is the white bread buns they are served on. Garbage.

[flataffect]

So where do they offer plates with ridges along the lines to keep your foods separate?

Is a bowl of shredded wheat grain or protein or dairy? My son has a PhD in Nutrition and says that soy protein helps prevent osteoporosis. Welcome to tofu hell.