Warning: this is (mostly) a USA-centric post.

Over the weekend, I skimmed the latest government report on
proposed nutrition guidelines. This morning, I'm reading the
food/cooking supplement to the local paper and come across
an article titled "Experts will restack the food pyramid" by
Elizabeth Lee of Cox (not Fox) News Service, which basically
summarizes the guidelines.

Ms. Cox's article includes a couple of statements that caught my
eye:

1. Following those guidelines would mean big changes for most
Americans, including eating more whole grains and dark-green
vegetables; cutting way back on added sugars, salt and solid fats
such as butter; and setting aside more time to exercise.

My reaction: Following the existing guidelines would mean big
changes for most Americans. Setting aside more time to exercise
isn't really the issue - it's getting any exercise whatsoever.

2. Don't wash meat and poultry, since that can spread bacteria
around the kitchen.

My reaction - I don't recall seeing such a comment in the food safety
part of the report, although I will go back and look. I always rinse meat
and poultry and clean up thoroughly afterwards. Is this an item of common
knowledge which I'm not aware of?

My overall reaction is that this is a well intentioned (maybe) but ultimately
futile effort involving significant cost and government processes. Why maybe?
As a nod to those who will insist that the government is in a conspiracy
with the food industry to promote economic over nutritional goals.

Ten, twenty and one hundred years from now, we and those who come
after us will still see TV (or whatever has taken the place of TV) reports
with obese people strolling through malls with gigantic bags of doughnuts,
and morbidly fat ladies who insist that they're beautiful and healthy and
we're too preoccupied with shallow images of ideal body types (lady,
nobody says you need to be Twiggy or Pamela Anderson or whoever ,
but you seriously need to lose a hundred pounds). People will still squander
hard earned dollars on ridiculous herbal supplements that promise im-
pressive weight loss with no effort, and kids will not have traded in Doritos
for carrot sticks.