The New Food Plate

The USDA's answer to the "complicated" Food Pyramid: a simple plate, place mat, drink and fork. Here's what people are saying:

"This is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods that we’re eating. We’re all bombarded with so many dietary messages that it’s hard to find time to sort through all this information, but we do have time to take a look at our kids’ plates. If the filled plate looks like the symbol, with lots of fruits and vegetables, it’s as simple as that." - Michelle Obama

"It’s better than the pyramid, but that’s not saying a lot." - Marion Nestle

"It's such a recognizable image. Everybody has seen a plate, used a plate. It's much easier to visualize when it's something we use on a daily basis. It's about choosing the right things, not so much about avoiding." - Toby Smithson, R.D., a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association

"The new 'food icon' was designed to help slim Americans’ expanding girths: Two-thirds of American adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese. The costs associated with obesity are enormous.” - Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary

“It’s brilliant in its simplicity. It’s something the average American can look at and get a visual feel for how they can fill up a plate at a meal.” - Robb MacKie, Head of the American Bakers Association

"The plate image does not suggest portion sizes, only the ratios in which foods should be eaten." - Various Nutritionists

We here at Just Saying are curious to see how the meat industry will react to being relegated to the purple protein portion of the plate - that does not appear to require a knife or spoon. As always, reader thoughts and comments are welcome.

***UPDATE***

Stephen Colbert weighs in: "A plate? For Food? What's the connection? Americans don't use plates anymore. Our food comes from cases, bags, cans, tubes, and envelopes made of themselves." Watch the entire Colbert clip here.