By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff
When the federal government unveiled its food plate icon in June to replace its ridiculously confusing food pyramid, nutrition researcher Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, told me that the new plate was a “step in the right direction” with “reasonable proportions,” but that it doesn’t provide enough information to really guide Americans. He also wasn’t thrilled with the glass of milk on the side of the plate that implied a serving of dairy with every meal.
Yesterday Willett and his Harvard colleagues unveiled their own version of the healthy plate (above) that replaces milk with water and includes a small bottle of oil on the side to signify heart-healthier fats.
It’s also text heavy with explicit instructions to limit dairy, eat whole grains like whole-wheat pasta, limit trans fats -- yes, you should know what those are -- and to not include potatoes or French fries as vegetables.
The government’s version is far simpler with no words beyond “fruits, grains, vegetables, protein, and dairy” -- aiming to get us to focus on the visual portions rather than the nitty, gritty details; for those, you’d need to head to its website.
A larger issue, said Willett in a press conference yesterday, was the politics involved in the government’s decision to include milk and not to distinguish between the types of protein on the plate. The US Department of Agriculture, which developed the food plate, also represents the interests of dairy, potato, and cattle farmers, and Willett contended that the resulting icon lacks detailed information so as not to offend anyone in these stakeholder groups.
http://www.boston.com/Boston/dailydose/2011/09/harvard-releases-its-own-version-healthy-plate/at9RNx8GMhsJ6LU7k0Ig8I/index.html?s_campaign=8315
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