Who should dictate diet advice? The government's agriculture department tells us how to eat healthfully. But does it have our best interests at heart?

Natural Health, Dec, 2001 by Surell Levine

THE USDA USES ITS FOOD PYRAMID TO ADVISE PEOPLE WHAT TO eat and to dictate federal food programs. The department claims that the panel of nutritionists it appointed to create the pyramid deliver top-notch advice. Not everyone agrees.

Too often the panel takes nutrition research out of context or allows financial interests to taint its decisions, says nutritionist Walter Willet, Ph.D., of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. In fact, last year, the USDA lost a lawsuit charging that too many of its panel members have ties to the meat and dairy industries. Fed up with the misinformation the USDA doles out, Willet just came out with a new pyramid, left, outlined in his book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy (Simon & Schuster, 2001). It recommends less dairy and meat, separates whole grains from refined ones, and adds non-food advice like exercise. While Willet thinks his pyramid is superior, he says it ideally should be developed by a government group without financial ties.

What Do You Think?

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