Critics Charge that New Food Pyramid is in Bad Taste

The U.S. agriculture department is unveiling a new icon this week intended to help Americans make healthy food choices. But despite its new look, the food pyramid now features plenty of familiar corporate logos. 

And a new slogan: "Invest in your health"

By Hermione Slatkin, Health Correspondent

WASHINGTON, DC—The Bush Administration has relied on sophisticated PR tools to promote everything from Social Security reform to a kindler, gentler image overseas. In what could be its most ambitious initiative to date, the administration has teamed up with a top PR company to change the way Americans eat. This week, the government will unveil a new, improved version of a familiar icon--the food pyramid--updated to include some familiar corporate logos.

For sale: the food pyramid
To overhaul its famous food pyramid, the Agriculture Department (USDA) has brought in top PR firm, Porter Novelli, at a cost of $2.5 million. Porter Novelli brings to the project an impressive roster of food industry clients, including the Campbell Soup Company, McDonald's and the Dole Food Company. Several of the companies have weighed in on the icon that will be used to help Americans make healthier food choices, suggesting, for example, that the pyramid include more processed foods, or specific brand names.

Sources close to the project say that many of those suggestions have been adopted, and that the revised version of the pyramid will feature prominent corporate logos in place of the old cartoon images of eggs, bread and meat. (Click thumbnail to enlarge image.) 

Invest in your health
Along with the food pyramid's high-powered makeover, The USDA is also rolling out a new slogan: "Invest in your health," a phrase intended to reflect the department's embrace of the Bush Administration's concept of an ownership society, in which Americans take personal responsibility for every aspect of their lives from home ownership to retirement to food choices.

"We want Americans to think about nutrition the way they do about their investments. Put something in, you want to get the maximum back in return," says Alan Schloesser, a spokesperson for the agency. "The new pyramid will help Americans identify what food choices will give them the most bang for their buck. Bread, cereals, rice and grains are like blue chip stocks—steady, dependable. Your meats and other fats are like high risk stocks—tech companies or emerging markets. It's fine to experiment occasionally, but you don't want to make them the basis of your portfolio or your meal plan," says Schloesser.

New standards—and some familiar logos
The USDA's new dietary guidelines encourage Americans to forego fatty favorites and sugary staples in favor of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The government says that 50% of our daily diet should be fruits and vegetables. The new guidelines recommend that an average person consume roughly 4 1/2 cups of fruits & veggies and at least 3 ounces of whole grains a day.

But if the current obesity epidemic is any indication, transforming the way Americans eat may be easier said than done. And while many Americans may still be unfamiliar with whole grains or with unusual vegetables like broccoli or kale, the USDA is hoping that the introduction of familiar corporate logos will change all of that—in a hurry. "When you looked at the original pyramid, you had to try to guess what the picture symbolized. But images aren't always accurate," says Schloesser. "Just because something is brown doesn't mean it's made from whole grains."

In poor taste?
Critics note that most of the companies included on the new pyramid have made sizeable donations to either the Bush reelection campaign, or to the committee that sponsored the President's inaugural celebration. Unlike campaign donations, which are strictly limited by federal law, corporations may give unlimited amounts to inaugurations.

Company logos that will dress up the redone pyramid include Dole, whose CEO David Murdock brought in more than $100,000 for the Bush reelection effort. The meat, poultry, fish and dry beans category will sport the familiar Tyson logo. Tyson donated $100,000 to the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Finally, the fats, oils and sweets category will be stamped with two of the best known corporate logos in the country: Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. Pepsi Cola gave $100,000 to the inauguration, while Coca Cola VP Barclay T. Resler was a Bush "ranger," rounding up more than $200,000 in campaign contributions for the president.

Not every company included in the new pyramid is a Bush donor. While the CEO of Kellogg's, Carlos Gutierrez, is President Bush's commerce secretary, the company has not given sizeable amounts to the Bush campaign or to the Republican Party.

Bottoms Up
The Food Guide Pyramid was originally introduced as an easy way to show what food groups make up a healthy diet. The visual aid also demonstrates the importance of consuming a variety of foods from all five groups. The pyramid shape (rather than a circle or square) also indicates which foods we should eat the most of and which we should eat less of. The food groups that make up the widest part of the pyramid, or its base, should provide the bulk of our daily diet. As we ascend the pyramid, the amount of foods we consume should get smaller.

The addition of corporate logos marks the first substantive overhaul to the Food Guide Pyramid since it was unveiled by the USDA in 1992.

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Comments

[Leon]

I enjoyed this piece, especially the line "The USDA is also rolling out a new slogan: 'Invest in your health,' a phrase intended to reflect the department's embrace of the Bush Administration's concept of an ownership society.

Definately a nervous laugh was appropriate for the reference to Bush's "Ownership society." Forget about the well being of Americans, if there's money to be made, then screw the intention of the USDA. I smellz a money makin' opporunity!!

-Leon

[george]

YO MAMA

[Cat Marcuri]

What, this is supposed to be new? Haven't you ever looked at the American diet? We've been eating this way for decades, and it didn't take any governmental changes to make it happen! Check out the latest rates of obesity among Americans (and their children!) and tell me that this hasn't been the unofficial diet plan for at least one full generation!

Excellent work, guys and gals. You always manage to lighten my load when I'm feeling the stress of reading the "liberal media" reports! Keep it up. The Silent Majority needs you more than ever!

[Interested party]

This was a great article as usual, it definitely made me laugh. The sad part is that it is closer to the truth than most think. I'd like to see an article on FDA's and Big pharma's new campaign, since the FDA approved drugs came under scrutiny, one step away from becoming the next tabbaco industry, the corporations and agency proposed bills that will not allow people to sue the food industry, as well as the pharmaceutical industry. They also place ads to "warn" people of the "dagners of natural products"you know, the foods that kept he human race alive for thousands of years are now very dangerous. this is something I would like to see an article on.

On the Democratic quiz, veganism, is not a political philosophy, neither are Islamic fundamentalism, (though some politicians in the Middle East and America insist on making it so,) neither is Kabbalah, Scientology or Paganism, These are religions and so it wouldn't be legit. If democrats were to assume Fascim or Communism, well god help us. That would really ruin them and us. So I think they need to adopt an Honesty ideology, god I know that is the enemy of politicians, but I fell both the democrats and the GOP would benefit enourmosly from that ideology. Too bad, it is more likely that they will attempt to adopt a religious philosophy, or Fascism, than Honesty.

[adsfasdf]

lol, you fooled someone on craigslist.