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MyPlate

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has replaced the food pyramid with a simple, plate shaped symbol, sliced into wedges for the basic food groups, and half filled with fruits and vegetables. The circular plate is meant to give consumers a fast, easily understood reminder of the basics of a healthy diet. There are four colored sections: fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein. Beside the plate is a smaller circle for dairy, suggesting a glass of low fat milk and/or a cup of yogurt. “It’s going to be hard not to do better than the current pyramid, which basically conveys no useful information,” says Dr. Walter C. Willett, chairman of the Nutrition Department at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The new symbol was designed to underscore a central mantra of the federal government’s healthy eating push: make half of your plate fruits and vegetables. “We need to get consumers’ attention,” says Robert C. Post, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. It is meant to be a “visual cue” prompting consumers to say, “I need to be a little more concerned about what I choose to build a healthy day’s diet.”

Consumers are urged to eat smaller portions, switch to low fat or fat free milk and drink water instead of sugary drinks.