Does the New Nutrition Guide Encourage Eating a Vegetarian Diet?

This past Thursday the first lady updated the government’s food pyramid to a simpler diagram of a plate divided into basic food groups, which is now called MyPlate. Michelle Obama has been working hard to combat obesity and encourage healthier eating, and her latest accomplishment will hopefully make an impact on nutrition. As Ella, one of our writers, said in her article, the majority of the recommendations on plate are plant-based based! Was encouraging people to eat entirely or mainly vegetarian part of Michelle's agenda?

MyPlate is divided into four sections: fruit, vegetables, grains and protein. Off to the side is a smaller circle for dairy products, so there's definitely no vegan objective here unless nut milks are included or it's exclusion from the main certain is implying that dairy is optional and not necessary. It's wonderful that the word "protein" is used without mention of animal products - it's about time the world recognizes that amino acids can come from plant-based sources as well! Although, it's slightly unclear since protein is in vegetables and grains, which most people are unaware of due to marketing. It'd be nice if that section was changed to legumes...

Unfortunately it's unlikely that MyPlate is encouraging the vegetarian diet. The Agriculture Department recommends eating fish twice a week, although they do suggest that people avoid high-fat, salty foods like salami and bologna. The campaign also aims to encourage people to make half their plate fruit and vegetables, eat whole grains, drink low or no fat milk, and consume smaller portions that are low in sodium and sugar - definitely a health step, but still room for poor protein choices.

Whether or not MyPlate has a plant-based agenda, it is certainly focused on the healthier eating habits. Obama said in the press conference: “this is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods that we’re eating,” Mindful eating is the first step in become healthier and more compassionate - we've come a long way since the first nutrition pyramid! The biggest challenge is getting the country to enjoy their vegetables, especially children. The best place to start is on sites like Greenwala, where you can find advice and tasty recipes - with our help you may want more than 25% of your meal to be vegetables!