First Lady Michelle Obama along with Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and Tom Vilsack revealed the new USDA food dietary recommendation graphic My Plate today. The new plate graphic cost about $2 million dollars and 2 years to make. My Plate replaces My Pyramid, which featured vertical colored stripes and a figure climbing stairs to represent an active lifestyle. Critics found My Pyramid too confusing, causing the USDA to rethink its approach to dietary education.

“It’s grabbing the consumers’ attention that we are after this time, not making it so complicated that perhaps it is a turnoff,” said Robert Post of USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. “There is something really inviting about this familiar setting for meal time.”

The plate is divided into 4 sections, with a small round section on the side representing dairy. According to the USDA, “The new food icon will be part of a comprehensive nutrition communication initiative that provides consumers with easy-to-understand recommendations, a new website with expanded information, and other tools and resources.”

 
What do you think of the My Plate graphic?