The Ridiculous Food Pyramid (Condemned)

Neoperspectives ^ | 4/23/05

[traviskicks]

The Ridiculous Food Pyramid

 

 

New Food Guide Unveiled (posted 4/23/05)

4/19/05 Washington Post Concerned about steadily expanding waistlines... Stop! The first sentence of this story already rubs me the wrong way. Since when was it the responsibility of government to worry about how fat you or I are? One would think the citizens of this country would be more 'Concerned about the steadily expanding waistlines' of bloated and nonsensical government programs funded with their looted taxpayer dollars than the government would be 'Concerned about the steadily expanding waistlines' of its citizens. 

    I mean, who is the government?!? Who are these people that are so concerned about us? Are they omnipotent wise and benevolent elitists who, out of the goodness of their hearts, use our stolen tax dollars to ensure that we, a bunch of stupid, incompetent, idiot citizens, live our lives correctly? Or is it better characterized by Theodore Roosevelt who said, The government is us; we are the government, you and I.? 

    Of course we the people are the government! So, thus translated, this first sentence is really stating, 'Citizens concerned about steadily expanding waistlines of other citizens...' But, wait, how can this possibly be true? Common sense dictates that most people are far more worried more about their own waistlines then the waistlines of people around them. In fact, I'd wager most people don't give a hoot how fat their neighbors are and, even if they did, would hesitate to take any 'preventative' action. Could you imagine: 

Nosy Neighbor: "Excuse me, Mr. Jones, there's something I've been meaning to talk with you about - regarding your waistline."

Mr. Jones: #%@ #%%#@% @#%%!!!!

    So we are left with the unsettling conclusion that the truly accurate phrasing of the original sentence in this story is: 'Elitists Concerned about steadily expanding waistlines...'. Unfortunately, most people won't have the same reaction to this as Mr. Jones did to his nosy neighbor because they are either  A) unaware they are being robbed and insulted, B) apathetic to robbery and insult, or C) apparently believe that these elitists, unlike the nosy neighbor, are desperately needed 'experts' who have a right to take money from their family without their consent in order to hire consulting companies with (possible) corrupt ties to food companies and create all these books, pamphlets, charts, websites, and programs, which have all been dead wrong in the past: The switch was recommended in a 70-page booklet, "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005," that was developed by a panel of scientists and doctors and released in January. As the basis for revising the pyramid, the guidelines emphasize choosing good carbohydrates over bad ones; for example, choosing bread made from whole-grain flour instead of white flour.

    The truth is that what these scientists and doctors say is 'good' and 'bad' for us changes all the time because (gasp) they are not much more 'expert'  than you or me. In fact, you're probably better off trusting your nosy neighbor, who may have successfully lost some pounds using the Atkins or South Beach diet, rather than trusting the 'latest' government chart. Interestingly, the new pyramid has sluggishly moved in the same direction as the public craze with high protein diets and high fiber carbohydrates. Of course, a small difference is that these diet programs (generally) only become popular because they work and people aren't thrown in jail if they don't buy them. 

    In conclusion, what will these elitists do if their ridiculous food pyramid and other anti-obesity schemes (like these by the HHS ostensibly targeting African Americans) don't work and the idiot sheep, whoops I mean citizens, of this country keep getting fatter and fatter? They might decide that, for the public good, they need to ban junk food advertising on 'children's channels' as they now do in Britain. Or perhaps they will decide what your child will eat in the public school you are forced by law to spend your tax money on. Or, as the socialists are proposing in France, perhaps they will create the High Committee on the Fight against Obesity, which will provide a code of good conduct for food companies. And warn that: "the use of individual cars is a problem not only for environment", but also for obesity.

    But, in the end, the pillaged taxpayers always get the last laugh. For example, another meddling government agency, the Center for Disease and Control, now says: Packing on the pounds is not nearly as deadly as the government thought, according to a new calculation from the CDC that found people who are modestly overweight actually have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight.

    Why don't we save a few billion dollars and just buy a taxpayer funded comedian?

[traviskicks]

Thought people might enjoy a little Food Pyramid Bashing. :)

[muawiyah]

You will all be better off giving up potatoes, bread, pasta and rice.

[xJones]

They can fool around with the Food Pyramid all they want, but don't let anyone change the pecking order in the Food Chain!

[JohnBovenmyer]

Since when was it the responsibility of government to worry about how fat you or I are?

Since they took control of worrying about how thin we were. Food stamps, government "free" lunches, breakfasts... the feds start fattening us up even while we're unviable tissue masses with programs for the pregnant. Then they run PSAs about all the "hunger" in America. According to the government you suffer from "hunger" if you miss one meal a month. We need to "needs test" the "free" food programs by measuring height and weight of the recipients. Permit real medical loopholes. Let the food police set the standards and the libs run the oversight. Publish their results locally so the libs have incentives to achieve good results . Leave the ability to opt out of the program and associated food police oversight, by just opting not to take the free food - the low liberal diet. You'll probably save enough federal dollars in food give aways to pay for something better for the truly needy weight challenged than a pyramid scheme.

Admittedly this isn't going straight to the libertarian ideal, but it is a step in the right direction and one that is politically possible.

[Cloverfarm]

I think people started to bloat once we got away from the idea of four basic food groups -- and once we became so sedentary. Lots of factors in this. I don't think a chart is going to fix it.

[Ditter]

I think people bloated up when manufacturers started putting 'high fructose corn syrup' into everything they made. Read some labels folks its in everything!