The Farmplate Blog

Last week First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced that the food pyramid—the visual guideline that has influenced the eating habits of adults and children nationwide since 1992— will be replaced by a new visual icon called MyPlate.

A press release issued by the USDA explains the reasons for the change.  “MyPlate will replace the MyPyramid image as the government's primary food group symbol as an easy-to-understand visual cue to help consumers adopt healthy eating habits consistent with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. MyPlate is a new generation icon with the intent to prompt consumers to think about building a healthy plate at meal times and to seek more information to help them do that by going to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov.”

The plate is divided into four sections—fruit, vegetables, grains and protein. A small circle representing dairy products is located next to the plate. The New York Times

Overall, there has been a positive response to MyPlate’s debut. "It conveys the message simply in a way that we all can understand," says Heidi Diller, a nutritionist for the Albertson's grocery chain. "A dinner plate is something we can all relate to." The Mercury News

NATIONAL NEWS 

June 2: Farm insurers are preparing to face potentially high losses as a result of extreme weather threatening farm production across the United States. “Farm insurers will have to pay even more if bad harvests cut into already-thin supplies and push up crop prices, some of which—cotton and corn—touched record levels on futures markets this year. Policies and potential payouts carry a higher price to reflect the crops' value.” The Wall Street Journal

June 2:  To help lower carbon dioxide emissions, some cattle farmers are adopting an environmentally friendly ranching system called “holistic herding” that was first developed in Africa over 40 years ago. Voice of America

REGIONAL NEWS

June 6: New England only has 28 slaughterhouses, according to the Vermont Agency for Agriculture, which makes it difficult for farmers to locally sell their locally produced beef. “The region's state agriculture departments have commissioned a $47,500 study to look at ways to address the problem.” SouthCoastToday.com

June 1: A joint venture between Green Mountain College and the non-profit Rutland Area Farm and Food Link is using a $100,000 grant to determine the consumer demand for local frozen produce. Vermont Public Radio

June 1: A new business called Northern Girl will soon make it possible to purchase Maine-grown versions of grocery store staples such as baby carrots. “The desire to make the bounty of Maine's vegetable farms more accessible is one of the motivations for this endeavor. Another motivation behind the enterprise is the desire to pay farmers a professional wage for their crops and help preserve the Aroostook County farming tradition.” The Portland Press Herald

May 30: An increasing demand for goat cheese has driven the expansion of the goat milk industry across the country, particularly in New England. Businessweek

By Chrissy Pearson

Photo Credit: US Department of Agriculture