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Obama To Replace Food Pyramid With Modernist "Mark Rothko" Dinner Plate
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 28, 2011
Modified May 28, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 28, 2011
Modified May 28, 2011
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You've got to hand it to Barry: while we've been distracted by how he's steered this country in the wrong directions fiscally and socially, he's taken aim for our precious food pyramid, which we've been weaned on since the early '90s. The new version, which will be a plate-shaped symbol, will be unveiled on Thursday by the Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Police and Promotion, and though a spokesman declined to say specifically what was on the plate, one person who has seen it said "it called to mind a painting by the artist Mark Rothko." Well pardon us, but shouldn't this pyramid look more like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting?
The Times reports that the pyramid, which a fancy Harvard professor says "conveys no useful information," will be replaced with a "simple, plate-shaped symbol, sliced into wedges for the basic food groups and half-filled with fruits and vegetables." Nice try, but don't the Feds know that we've given up the plates for feedbags a long ago?
The plate, which admittedly HAS to look better than the hilarious stick figure running down Rainbow Road that was debuted in 2005, will stress "consumers to eat smaller portions, switch to low-fat or fat-free milk, and drink water instead of sugary drinks." The plate, a doctor says, "will convey the message simply in a way that we can all understand," something that has eluded the pyramid for decades.
Tagged
barack obama
department of agriculture
Eating Habits
food pyramid
obama
obesity
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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